Gideon is more than an underdog story

Choosing a favorite food is difficult. I want some qualifiers. Are we talking about breakfast food or dinner? Mexican food or Mediterranean?

Similarly, when asked about my favorite person from the Bible, I struggle to answer. Are we talking men or women? Old or New Testament? One with a major narrative or one with a side story? Too many options.

While I can’t choose a favorite, Gideon is high on the list.

If you grew up in church, you probably know some of the Bible stories well — too well. You’ve heard them so many times that they are now normal. Or maybe now it’s harder to study them because all you see are the major themes that were taught to you over and over again.

For instance, I know the story of Gideon and its major themes. Gideon is a judge called to defeat the Midianites. God pares his army down to 300, so they’re the clear underdogs. The underdogs defeat the Midianites with jars, lanterns, trumpets, and a loud cry. Check that one off my list. But in knowing facts, I never felt the need to go deeper until sometime in my teenage years. God led me to Gideon a few years before I’d have to walk scared.

Here’s what I found when I went deeper. Referring to God’s call for Gideon to lead the army into battle, the Bible says: “That same night the Lord said to him, ‘Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.’ Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp.” (Judges 7:9-11 ESV, emphasis mine)

Did you catch that? God told Gideon that he could take a buddy if he was afraid, and Gideon took a buddy. Gideon was afraid!

I remember reading that for the first time and saying to God, “Wait a minute. If it was OK that Gideon was scared, if that didn’t disqualify him from completing his task, does that mean I can obey scared, too?” I realized for the first time that I didn’t have to understand every aspect of the plan in order to move forward and that I could be a little scared. God wanted my obedience, and He had already factored in my flesh’s insecurities and my mess-ups.

I wanted so badly to live a perfect life that it crippled me from acting much at all. If everything didn’t fall perfectly into place how I thought it should, my fears kept me from moving forward. But I was wrong in that. God didn’t design us to live in fear.

So many times God reminds His children, even commands them, not to fear. (See the book of Joshua, for instance.) But when we just can’t seem to get past our fears, there’s grace for that, too, because God’s power dwells in us and reminds us to be courageous.

Romans 7 tells us we’re going to struggle with sin as long as we’re in the flesh. That includes struggling with our fears. Still, we can keep trying. Why? Because we’re not living only in sinful flesh anymore. 1 John 1:9 tells us that God forgives us and cleanses us when we confess our sins. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us we’re a new creation in Christ. With the power of God living inside us, we can pursue Him with all our might, and the weight of the penalty of our sin no longer has to hold us down. Even in our Gideon moments, we can still walk forward, even walk scared.

I don’t see God saying, “Well, Gideon, you proved you didn’t fully trust me by bringing your buddy, so you’re not good enough for this task. I’ll have to find someone who has it all together.” Praise God we don’t have to have it all together to be used by Him because that’s never going to happen. God holds all things together, and we need His help just as much when we’re confident as when we’re scared.

The cool thing about walking with God scared is that we trust Him so much more on the other side of obedience. When we face the next challenge, we have a record of God’s faithfulness to look back on and give us confidence that He will lead us through the new challenge. We build a level of trust we didn’t have before, and we start praying bigger, bolder prayers, confident of God’s power. Our minds and spirits are renewed with the truth of His faithfulness and love, and honestly, we just love Him better when it’s all said and done. Our fears truly subside when we draw near to God as He proves Himself to us.

Gideon’s demeanor changed after that battle, and I encourage you to spend some time in Judges 7 exploring that story. Then go make a list of the fears or insecurities that are holding you back from walking obediently and pray over those. Share with a close, safe friend if you have one, and let them help you pray for courage.

God has great plans for us, and I don’t want us to miss out on them because of fears. Let’s learn from Gideon and walk in boldness this week. God’s plans may not make sense to us, and we may not get the answers we expected for the things we’ve prayed over, but let’s choose to trust His ways are higher and better, and let’s be amazed at His power and might.