“Then the Lord’s angel came to the village of Ophrah and sat under the oak tree that belonged to Joash, a man of the clan of Abiezer. His son Gideon was threshing some wheat secretly in a wine press, so that the Midianites would not see him. The Lord’s angel appeared to him there and said, “The Lord is with you, brave and mighty man!” Gideon said to him, “If I may ask, sir, why has all this happened to us if the Lord is with us? What happened to all the wonderful things that our fathers told us the Lord used to do—how he brought them out of Egypt? The Lord has abandoned us and left us to the mercy of the Midianites.” Then the Lord ordered him, “Go with all your great strength and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I myself am sending you.” Gideon replied, “But Lord, how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least important member of my family.” The Lord answered, “You can do it because I will help you. You will crush the Midianites as easily as if they were only one man.” Gideon replied, “If you are pleased with me, give me some proof that you are really the Lord. Please do not leave until I bring you an offering of food.” He said, “I will stay until you come back.” So Gideon went into his house and cooked a young goat and used a bushel of flour to make bread without any yeast. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, brought them to the Lord’s angel under the oak tree, and gave them to him. The angel told him, “Put the meat and the bread on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” Gideon did so. Then the Lord’s angel reached out and touched the meat and the bread with the end of the stick he was holding. Fire came out of the rock and burned up the meat and the bread. Then the angel disappeared. Gideon then realized that it was the Lord’s angel he had seen, and he said in terror, “Sovereign Lord! I have seen your angel face-to-face!” But the Lord told him, “Peace. Don’t be afraid. You will not die.” Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and named it “The Lord is Peace.” (It is still standing at Ophrah, which belongs to the clan of Abiezer.)”
Judges 6:11-24
Gideon questioned where God was because of what was going on in Israel. I have been there questioning “God where are You?” Or “If You really love me, if You are good, why is this happening to me?” I have learned through some of these most difficult times, there is something I need to learn. Or there is some test I need to pass that will help me in the new season I am going into. Every now and then, it is truly an attack of the enemy but even then God can use it for His glory and still work it out for good.
I have encouraged others to go ahead and ask the questions. The Bible is full of examples of people asking the tough questions during difficult times. God already knows what we are thinking. At least if we ask Him the questions, when we see the lesson we can also clearly see His hand in the response.
Interestingly, the angel did not respond to the question. The angel just kept with His instructions. Sometimes silence is the best response to our questions.
Sometimes, I wish God would argue with me. In part, I like a little debate. I also know He would win so I could learn from Him. He doesn’t stoop to the level of my arguments. He just calls me to rise to the assignment. Or He repeats His instructions until I am ready to quit disobeying. Or He remains silent until I am ready to proceed.
The other part of the story is Gideon explaining why he was not enough. He knew he was not enough because his clan was the smallest and he was an unimportant person in his family. Again, this was not met with arguments, just instructions.
There are often times I have felt like I am not enough. The enemy will take my flesh thoughts and words and run with my own accusations amplifying them in my mind. I can easily disqualify myself before I even finish hearing the first stop of God’s instructions.
I am reminded of one of the daily devotions from Jonathan Cahn’s The Book of Mysteries. He shares how one of God’s names is I Am. When we start with our disqualifiers, it usually starts as “I am” proceeded with what disqualifies us. Gideon says “ I am the least.” In essence, this is a form of taking God’s name in vain.
It will never be me alone on God’s assignment. It is God in me and God with me. God is I Am, so my qualifiers should be defined by Him, not me. Like “able”, “chosen” and “equipped.” If God has called me to it, regardless of the obstacles, He will bring me through it; just as He did with Gideon. With God, nothing is impossible; the very word says “I’m possible.”
Prayer – Lord, forgive me for the times I have tried to engage You in my arguments about who I am and questioning where You are. Teach me to just accept what You say and obey. Complete faith with complete surrender. Thank You for not giving up on me when I have questioned and explained why I am not the one. I know if You bring me to it, without question You will bring me through it. You have equipped me for that this time and Your purpose.
Restoring Voice 
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