Having No Trust
And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. Judges 6:13
Read Judges 6:11-13
The Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon. He had a tremendous message
for him: The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. This was a totally
unexpected message. It was certainly not Gideon’s experience when
he considered his situation and that of his people. If the Lord was truly
with them, why were they experiencing such difficulties? Why all the misery?
Moreover, what about all the miracles which their fathers had spoken about? They had related impressive events where the Lord had delivered them out of the bondage of Egypt. But now God’s power seemed to have vanished. Why did it seem like the Lord had forsaken them and delivered them into the hands of the Midianites?
Gideon had no confidence in the message of the Angel of the Lord. Perhaps you can identify with Gideon’s dilemma. You ask yourself whether the Lord is willing to be there for you. Are the promises of God trustworthy? You discern so little of God’s work in your life and your surroundings. You may be inclined to ask yourself: How was the evidence of the Lord’s mighty work experienced in former times?
Furthermore, if the Word of God is reliable, you may wonder why you have sickness or difficult problems for which you cannot find a solution. You might draw the conclusion that the Lord is not available. Yet the Word of God is trustworthy! Our problem is that we find it so difficult to believe in God and rely upon His own Word. You and I need the Holy Spirit to enable us
to believe in that Word. The Lord is willing to give this trust and confidence!
Thought: How can you be sure that the Word of God can be trusted?
Psalter 152: 1,2,3 (based on Psalm 56) What time I am afraid I put my trust in Thee; In God I rest, and praise His word so rich and free. In God I put my trust, I neither doubt nor fear, For man can never harm With God my helper near. In God, the Lord, I rest, His word of grace I praise, His promise stands secure, Nor fear nor foe dismays.