Jesus Isn't Decaf (By Naomi Meyers)

It really wasn’t the best moment for conversation. Not because he had nothing to say. He had plenty. Hiding out alone to thresh wheat in secret had given him more than enough time to think. To silently rant. To build up a full head of steam. It didn’t put him in the best head space for civil conversation. His mind raced. His blood boiled. He was tired of this mess. Tired of their current circumstances. Tired of being on the losing end. Over and over and over again. 

For seven years they had been oppressed by the Midianites. Their previous peaceful lifestyle was destroyed by their enemies. Villages and towns now rendered unsafe, they had taken to hiding in mountain caves and strongholds, secretly scraping out a minimal, miserable existence. They were a shadow of their former selves. And their enemies continued to triumph. Toy with them. Tease them. Allow them to grow crops, raise herds, only to sweep in pillaging and destroying, leaving a path of destruction in their wake. Yes. Gideon had plenty to say. A thousand frustrated, angry words about the situation. A dozen questions swirling around in his brain. Questions about God. About His whereabouts. About why He wasn’t answering their cries for help. 

Not that they deserved an answer. They didn’t. After the death of Deborah, the people had gone astray. Again. It wasn’t the first time. At the end of every judge’s tenure, the vast majority of the people would sacrifice the peace they knew for the dazzling evil of the world around them. They would willingly chase the desires of their own hearts instead of following hard after God. They would continually choose things that weren’t God to be their gods. They would cherish them. Worship them. Seek them above all things. In response, God allowed the Midianites to oppress them. All of them. Those who strayed. Those who stayed. Those like Gideon. (Judges 2-5)

Gideon wasn’t busy following the ways of the people around them. He hadn’t chosen evil over good. Hadn’t done anything to deserve the mayhem and destruction besetting them. He was still being punished. He was still threshing wheat in a winepress. That’s where the angel of the Lord found him and quietly spoke the words unleashing the pent-up fury of verbal vomit Gideon had so carefully controlled. “God is with you. You are His mighty warrior.” Unfortunately, Gideon missed the first part. (Judges 6:12)

Upset, even angry, with the current circumstances of his people, Gideon released the torrent of words reeling around his head. His questions poured out one after another as if the floodgates had opened. No pause occurred between them. Barely a breath was taken. They reeked of desperation. Anxiety. Frustration. Where was God anyway? If He was with them, why were all these awful things happening? Why was there no reprieve from the abuse of the Midianites? Where were all the miracles He knew God could perform? He believed God was fully capable of delivering them. He knew God had the power. He knew God could right the wrongs against His people. If He chose to do so. But He wasn’t doing anything. Nothing. Not. One. Thing. No matter their tears and cries, the heavens remained silent, the horrors continued. They felt abandoned. Dismissed. Ignored. Unheard. And no one had been raised to help them. No new judge had appeared to lead them. Until now. 

When Gideon paused to suck in a breath, the angel of God spoke again. It was clear Gideon had only been half listening the first time. He needed him to hear the words coming out of his mouth. Words from God. A surprising declaration stopping Gideon mid-diatribe. He, Gideon, was God’s mighty warrior. He was God’s chosen leader. He was the answer to the cries of the people. He was the next step in God’s plan. He simply needed to go in the strength God provided and do the things God commanded him to do. No matter that his clan was the weakest. No matter that Gideon was considered the least of them. None of that mattered. Gideon didn’t need to be great, strong, talented, or even particularly smart. God would take care of everything. He would give victory. He would solve the problem of the Midianites once and for all. Gideon had only to step out in faith and do what God told him to do. One step at a time. One battle at a time. Deliverance would come. And it did. 

If you continue reading the account of Gideon’s life, you will see deliverance happen. Even though Gideon’s steps are sometimes tentative. When he waits for the cover of darkness to destroy his father’s altar to Baal. When he places not one, but two fleeces before the Lord asking for miracles to prove he’s heard the directions correctly. And you will see Gideon’s backbone straighten. You will see his faith strengthen. You will watch him place his confidence in the directions of God even when he can’t see how they make sense. You will see the moment he walks into battle armed only with trumpets and lamps. You will see God fight the battle, win the war, answer the cries of His people. By His own strength. According to His own plan. Because one man chose to trust God, when everything around him seemed to say God wasn’t working. He chose to walk with God, one step at a time, never running ahead, lagging behind, or turning off on his own course. He chose to obey God, even when he couldn’t fathom how that obedience would bring victory. Gideon chose to believe God, to be faithful, to be obedient. And God was faithful in return. (Judges 6-7)

Every one of us will, at some point in our lives, inhabit a space similar to that of Gideon. We will be angry, frustrated, upset with the circumstances of our lives. The things that happen to us will seem unreasonable. Things we have done nothing to deserve. We will cry out to God, asking for a sign, a special promise, a miraculous rescue. And God will answer. It might not be exactly the answer we expected. It might not be how we think He should work. It may not happen as soon as we wish it would. But God will answer. God will work. God has a plan for every circumstance of our lives and will be certain to see it to completion. Through you. Through me. Through our faithful obedience to His directions. God is faithful. He is not ignorant of your situation. He is not ignoring your cries. He has promised to be with you in every situation, to deliver you and honor you. And He will. You can trust Him. Stay faithful. Because God is always faithful to those who are faithful to Him. (II Thessalonians 3:3; Deuteronomy 7:9; Hebrews 13:5-6; I Corinthians 1:9; I Peter 3:12; Isaiah 1:19; 60:22; Psalm 27:14; 91:15)