The Bible is filled with hundreds of verses declaring the truth that God will never leave us or forsake us. I know this truth; I believe this truth. Sometimes, when I am in the middle of difficulties; when I cannot make sense of God’s work in my life, when I am hurting and weary of the struggle, I begin to question: “Where are you God?  If you are with me, then why is this happening?  Why aren’t you handling things?”  During these times, my feelings begin to overrule my faith. 

 

Gideon, the ancient warrior of God, found himself in a similar slough of second-guessing.  In the book of Judges, the children of Israel had turned away from God and begun to follow the customs and ways of the ungodly nations around them.  They were living in dark, desperate times.  The Bible says their enemies descended upon them like a swarm of locusts, destroying all their crops and killing all their animals.  The Israelites found themselves destitute, helpless, and starving.  In Judges chapter 6, we find Gideon secretly threshing wheat in a winepress. You don’t have to know a lot about wheat threshing to know that the winepress is the worst place to try and thresh wheat.  The winepresses are low places. The optimal place to thresh wheat is on the hilltops. The thresher tosses the wheat into the air, the chaff blows away, while the heavier kernels of wheat fall to the ground.

 

Let’s join this famous scene in Judges 6:12-14: The angel of the Lord showed himself to Gideon and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O powerful soldier.” Gideon said to him, “O sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all His powerful works which our fathers told us about? They said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has left us alone. He has put us under the power of Midian.” The Lord looked at him and said, “Go in this strength of yours. And save Israel from the power of Midian. Have I not sent you?”

 

Three threshing truths emerge from God’s interaction with Gideon that can help us faithfully walk through difficulties.

 

First, God’s presence is not determined by our circumstances.  Gideon certainly didn’t feel that God was with him. Gideon’s situation didn’t indicate that God was with him.  Gideon’s faith was not strong. Gideon was engulfed in discouragement and fear.  Yet, the truth is that God was with him and knew Gideon’s situation better than Gideon did.   It’s the same for you today. Regardless of the circumstances or how you feel, God is with you. This truth is found throughout God’s Word.

 

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there, if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” (Psalm 139:7-12)

 

“For He has said, “I will never [under any circumstances] desert you [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you [assuredly not]!”  (Hebrews 13: 5 Amplified Bible)

 

Second, it’s okay to tell God how we feel.  We must be honest before God.  He knows anyway.

On many occasions the Psalmist pours out his heart to God in despair and questioning.

 

“Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.” (Psalm 25:16)

 

“My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groanings; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.” (Psalm 31:10)

 

“Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?  Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1)

 

There is no better place for your doubts and questions and fears than at the throne of grace and the feet of Jesus.  Better to bring them all to God than to keep them to yourself.  Once you lay them out before the Lord, your heart will be lighter and often your faith will grow stronger.

 

Finally, we learn that God will guide us in the next step.  The angel tells the weary warrior, “Go in the strength that you have.” Notice, God did not lay out all the detailed plans for Gideon, but rather encouraged him to “hang in there, stay the course, keep going.” 

 

In Matthew 7:7, Jesus reminds us to do the same thing: “Ask and keep on asking, knock and keep on knocking, search and keep on searching.”  I often find that it is in the searching, the times I just remain constant to the course, that God does the greatest work in my life.

I have learned a simple reflex response regardless of my circumstance, especially when the situation is overwhelming, fearful, or discouraging.  Instead of surrendering to panic, fear, anger, or despair, I take a deep breath and repeat my three “threshing truths” learned from Gideon:

 

       1) God is with me.

 

       2) My situation has not caught God by surprise.

 

       3) God will lead me through this challenge.

 

Life can be discouraging and even overwhelming at times.  We can’t prevent tough times, but we don’t have to cower in the wine press with fear, anxiety, and discouragement.  We must remember that we are not in the struggle alone. God is with us, guiding every step of the way.

 

Serving Together,