On Sunday mornings in our Sunday School class, our teacher has been using the life of Gideon as an example. For any of you that have read the Bible, it sounds like we would be learning of great faith and overcoming fear and doubt. However, this Sunday, I got a different view of Gideon that planted a seed in my own life.
As our teacher was reading through a passage on Gideon, He came to Judges 6:12-13, which says, "And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. 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 of us, saying, did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us into the hands of the Midianites." Our teacher continued, but these verses especially stuck out to me, and they have for this entire week.
God appeared to Gideon, and instead of responding in faith, he questioned God. This Bible hero, who is even mentioned in Hebrews 11 as one of the people with great faith, questioned if God was even really with him. I'll be honest, I never really noticed this about this story before. I had no idea that someone with such faith started out so faithless. A part of me was disappointed, until I realized that this is something I myself do without even realizing it.
This week, I have held multiple conversations about things that just do not "make sense". Genuinely good people getting bad test results, families losing loved ones, people disappointing others, and the list continues. I think to these conversations, and in ways, I thought on more than one occasion, why did this happen? Why would God allow these people to have so much pain? I have mirrored Gideon's reaction on more than one occasion. There are things in life sometimes that just do not make sense, and my heart often aches when I see impossible situations for those close to me.
With all this being noted, I did see another thing within the text of Judges 6. God did not give an explanation of why Israel was in captivity. He did respond to Gideon, though. Verse 16 says, "And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man." God never promised that He would let us know exactly why bad situations occur. God is not obligated to give us a detailed message of why everything happens the way it does. What God does promise, is that He will be there. Psalm 34:18 says, "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." God wants to be present for us when we are facing challenging situations. God wants to heal our brokenness, and wants to lead us through uncomfortable situations. So even if you cannot understand why something is happening, God's presence is there.
I do not know what you might be facing right now. Maybe you have a story like Gideon's, in the process of being written. You may be lacking faith right now. You may be disappointed about something happening in your life. I will tell you this, though, that situation never took God by surprise. In fact, God knows exactly what happened, and wants to lead you through it. God wants to hold you as a loving father holds his upset child. What you're going through is huge, it's real, and seems like too much for you. More importantly, however, God is huge, He's real, but that situation is not too much for Him. He can take care of anything. You just have to place it in His hands.
Why?
When your darkest time on earth is here,
And all that you feel is doubt and fear,
When you ask why, no answer is found,
You're just searching for some solid ground,
This was never, what you thought would be,
From the pain, you just want to be free,
There is just one thing you need to do,
Cling tight to Him, He'll lead you through,
He's behind the scenes, when you can't see,
Fighting battles and making you free,
When you're tossing about, fighting your fear,
He wants to hold you, and keep you near,
When you're broken, He's right by your side,
He'll lead you through whatever betide,
So don't lose faith, don't give up the fight,
God will lead you, He will use His might,
It may be hard, at this time to see,
But from this turmoil, you will be free.
--Ashley Allen
