Daily Devotion - Tuesday - November 3

Judges 6:11-16 CEV
11One day an angel from the Lord went to the town of Ophrah and sat down under the big tree that belonged to Joash, a member of the Abiezer clan. Joash's son Gideon was nearby, threshing grain in a shallow pit, where he could not be seen by the Midianites. 12The angel appeared and spoke to Gideon, “The Lord is helping you, and you are a strong warrior.” 13Gideon answered, “Please don't take this wrong, but if the Lord is helping us, then why have all of these awful things happened? We've heard how the Lord performed miracles and rescued our ancestors from Egypt. But those things happened long ago. Now the Lord has abandoned us to the Midianites.” 14Then the Lord himself said, “Gideon, you will be strong, because I am giving you the power to rescue Israel from the Midianites.” 15Gideon replied, “But how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest one in Manasseh, and everyone else in my family is more important than I am.” 16“Gideon,” the Lord answered, “you can rescue Israel because I am going to help you! Defeating the Midianites will be as easy as beating up one man.”

Gideon was living in the promised land after what his ancestors went through in wandering the wilderness for 40 years to get there.  Israel, Gideon’s people, forgot that this was promised to them. They were weak at that time and rather than relying on God’s provision and knowing He can do what  He had done in  the past, they played it safe. They were literally hiding in the hills. One better, Gideon was actually in a pit threshing wheat to hide from the Midianites because he (and his people as a whole) were fearful.  How many times do we get an answer to prayer from God and then shortly after we hide and become fearful, essentially dismissing all God has done? 
We will discuss this further this week.  Do you deal with fear?  How do you give it to God?  

Meghan DeGregory