Overcoming Fear | Weekly Devotional

Scripture: Judges 6:11–24 | Psalm 56:3–4 (NASB1995)

“The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior.” — Judges 6:12

Have you ever been so focused on what was going wrong around you that you couldn't see what God was doing right in front of you?

I think we've all been there.

We look at our circumstances. We see the struggles, the problems, the adversary standing against us, and we begin asking questions.

Where is God? Why is this happening? Why hasn't He done something?

That's exactly where we find Gideon in Judges chapter 6.

Israel had spent seven years under the oppression of Midian. The people had turned their backs on the Lord, and now they were living in fear. Every time the harvest came, the enemy would come and take what they had worked so hard to produce.

They were hiding in caves, trying to survive, and Gideon was no different.

When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he was threshing wheat in a winepress, hiding it from the Midianites.

And look at what the Lord said to him.

“The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior.”

Now, what about Gideon looked like a valiant warrior?

He's hiding! He's trying to save enough wheat to make a little bread, and the Lord is calling him a mighty warrior.

But what I want you to notice is Gideon's response.

The Lord says, I'm with you.

Gideon says, Then why has all this happened? Where are the miracles? Why has God abandoned us?

Think about that for a moment.

Gideon was standing in the presence of the One he was accusing of being absent.

And I wonder how often we do the very same thing.

We allow what's happening around us to determine what we believe about God.

When life is going well, we can see His blessings. We recognize His goodness. We talk about His faithfulness.

But when things begin falling apart, when the adversary rises up, when the struggle becomes bigger than what we think we can handle, suddenly we start questioning whether God is even there.

Church, the problem isn't always what we're looking at.

Sometimes the problem is what we're allowing to determine how we see.

When Fear Answers the Word of God

Look at the conversation between Gideon and the Lord.

The Lord says, I am with you.

Fear responds, There's no evidence of that. Where are the miracles?

The Lord says, Go and deliver Israel. Have I not sent you?

Fear responds, You can't mean me. I'm the least of the least.

The Lord says, Surely I will be with you.

And Gideon says, Then show me a sign.

Do you see what's happening?

Every time the Lord speaks, Gideon answers with something he sees in his circumstances or believes about himself.

He sees the strength of Midian.

He sees the weakness of his family.

He sees his own inadequacy.

But he's struggling to see the Lord.

The fear of what surrounded Gideon had convinced him that God was absent, even while God was speaking directly to him.

And that's the danger of allowing fear to govern how we see our lives.

Fear doesn't always cause us to run away. Sometimes it causes us to question everything God has already told us.

We begin measuring God's faithfulness by how comfortable our circumstances are.

We begin measuring our calling by how capable we feel.

We begin measuring God's presence by whether or not we can see Him working.

And before long, we're listening more closely to our fear than we are to the Word of God.

What Changed When Gideon Saw the Lord?

The Lord didn't change His message to Gideon.

He didn't say, Well, Gideon, since you don't feel like a warrior, let's find someone else.

He didn't withdraw His promise because Gideon had questions.

The Lord continued to tell him that He was with him and that He was sending him.

Then Gideon brought an offering before the Lord.

In Judges 6:21, the angel of the Lord touched the offering with his staff, and fire sprang from the rock and consumed it.

And suddenly Gideon recognized who had been speaking to him.

Verse 22 tells us that when Gideon realized he had seen the angel of the Lord, he cried out in fear.

He was overwhelmed by the reality of whose presence he had been standing in.

And the Lord answered him with peace.

“Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die.” — Judges 6:23

Now here's what I want you to recognize.

The Midianites were still there.

Their armies hadn't disappeared. Israel hadn't been delivered yet. Gideon hadn't suddenly become the strongest man in the country.

The circumstances hadn't changed.

But Gideon had encountered the Lord.

And when he recognized who was speaking, he had a reason to trust what had been said.

The enemy didn't have to change. God's Word didn't have to change. Gideon needed to recognize the One who had made the promise.

That's where I think we struggle so often.

We're waiting on God to change everything around us before we'll trust Him.

But perhaps what needs to change first is how we're seeing the Lord.

Not in What I Know of Me

One of the things Gideon kept returning to was his own inadequacy.

I'm the least. I'm the youngest. My family isn't important. I'm not the man for this.

And you know what?

Gideon couldn't deliver Israel in his own strength.

But that's not what God was asking him to do.

The Lord had already told him, “Surely I will be with you.”

Church, how many times have we felt the Lord leading us toward something, but instead of responding in faith, we began listing all the reasons we couldn't do it?

I'm not qualified.

I'm not strong enough.

I've never done anything like that.

Surely there's someone else who would be better.

But what if the answer isn't found in becoming more confident in ourselves?

What if the answer is found in becoming more confident in the Lord?

“Not in what I see, not in what I know of me, but in what I know of Him.”

That's where our confidence belongs.

We don't overcome fear by pretending we're stronger than we are.

We overcome fear by learning to trust the One who is greater than what we face.

Church, What Do You See?

I don't know what you're facing today.

I don't know what circumstances have caused you to question what God is doing.

Maybe you've been waiting for an answer. Maybe you've been struggling with something for years. Maybe you've convinced yourself that you're simply not capable of doing what the Lord has placed before you.

But I want to encourage you to look again.

Look beyond the adversary.

Look beyond your limitations.

Look beyond the things that have convinced you that you cannot move forward.

And look to the Lord.

His Word hasn't become less true because your circumstances have become more difficult.

His faithfulness hasn't diminished because you haven't seen the answer yet.

And His greatness has not changed because the adversary appears stronger than you.

You want to know how you overcome fear? You see Jesus.

Not just knowing about Him. Not merely hearing the stories of what He has done for others. But coming to know Him, understanding His Word, and learning to recognize His faithfulness in your own life.

Because when we truly see the Lord for who He is, it changes how we see everything else.

It changes how we understand our struggles.

It changes how we respond to His promises.

And ultimately, it brings us to a place of reverence before Him.

That's where genuine worship begins: recognizing who God truly is.

But for today, I want to leave you with one question.

What do you see?

Are you allowing the circumstances around you to tell you who God is?

Or are you allowing who God is, and what He has said in His Word, to determine how you see your circumstances?

The enemy may still be standing there.

The struggle may still be real.

But the Lord is still the Lord.

And when we see the Lord, everything changes.

A Prayer for Today

Father, help us to see You clearly. Forgive us for the times we've allowed our circumstances to speak louder than Your Word. When fear rises up, remind us of who You are. When we feel inadequate, remind us that our strength is found in You. And when we begin to question Your presence, draw us back to the truth of Your promises. Open our eyes to recognize Your goodness, Your faithfulness, and Your greatness. Teach us to trust what You have said, even when we cannot understand everything happening around us. In Jesus' name, amen.

Something to Think About This Week

What has fear caused you to believe about God that doesn't agree with what His Word actually says?

Spend some time in Scripture this week. Instead of rehearsing everything that could go wrong, remind yourself of what God has already revealed about Himself.

“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.” — Psalm 56:3

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Loving People to the Kingdom

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