Our Story 2.0 - Gideon | Sermon 07/07/24

When Gideon lived in Israel life was very hard. The armies and people around them took all their food, and his own people worshipped other gods instead of the One True God who had delivered them, brought them from Egypt, settled them in the land and provided for them. Gideon received a direct assignment from God to deliver the people from these armies and restore their worship to God alone. Gideon, though fearful and unsure, was tasked with standing strong against his people’s anger when he tore down the alter of Bael, and with leading a small group of men couragously into battle against the large Mideonite army.

The hero of this story is God who was faithful and kind to Gideon and merciful to the people who had turned away from Him.  God's instructions, plan, and action proved that it was God who gained the victory and God alone who deserved the glory. God relates to Gideon personally, assuring him that they are not abandoned and that God is still in fact with them. God gives Gideon confidence to obey these hard tasks through many reassurances of His power and presence.

We can wonder if God is really with us, especially when we just aren’t seeing evidence of His presence. Standing for Jesus can be difficult as we face rejection from those who would rather worship other gods. God is so kind to reassure us of His presence and power with us, giving us confidence to follow Him and to help others to do the same.