Judges 6:11-23
11 The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.
12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."
13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."
14 The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"
15 "But Lord, " Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."
16 The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."
17 Gideon replied, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.
18 Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you." And the LORD said, "I will wait until you return."
19 Gideon went in, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.
20 The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And Gideon did so.
21 With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared.
22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!"
23 But the LORD said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die."

The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said the Lord is with you mighty warrior. Gideon was in hiding at that time. And Gideon questioned God about the problem that he & his nation faced and God’s apparent lack of help. What he didn’t acknowledge was the fact that the people had brought upon themselves when they decided to disobey and neglect God. It is very easy to overlook personal accountability & blame our problems on God & others.

Unfortunately this does not solve all the problems.

It brings us no closer to God. And it leads us to very edge of rebellion & back-sliding. When problems come the first place to look is within. Our first action should be confession to God of sins that may have created our problems. In V 14-16 “I will be with you God told Gideon” and God promised to give him strength he needed to overcome the opposition. In spite of this clear promise for strength Gideon made excuses seeing only his limitations & weaknesses. He failed to see how God could work through him.

Like Gideon we are called to serve God in specific ways. Although God promises us the tools & strength we need, we often make excuses. Don’t spend time making excuses instead spend it doing what God wants. God had to assure Gideon “Peace! Do not be afraid you are not going to die.”

God has to assure us on & off to keep us going.

Prayer idea

Ask other brothers/sisters in the family group how you behave when you are disturbed. Get them to help you.