Judges 6:11-16: Courage to Trust

In our current sermon series we have been looking at the story of Gideon's call in order to learn how we might apply the same kind of courage that he did, and realize the vision that God has for our lives. Thus far, we have seen how Gideon needed courage to see; that is, once he heard God's vision for his life, it required courage for him to then take an honest look at who he really was before he could become what God envisioned.

Next we looked at how Gideon needed courage to go. After hearing God's vision, and taking a spiritual self assessment, Gideon would need to form the intention, and go live into the vision of life that God had for him. He would need to begin seeing all his "might"—his resources—through the eyes of a mighty warrior. This would require courage.These two instances of courage are vital, and without them we can never get any headway. But if these are the only two that we use to get to the place God has called us to be, we will end up frustrated and failing. Therefore, while we endeavor to be courageous in these areas, we must also seek to have courage in another area. We must seek to have the courage to trust, but more specifically, the courage to trust that God will be with us, and for us, as we journey towards the vision of life that he has given us.

If you pay attention to the passage that we have been reading, you will see hints of this throughout the whole of it. Every time Gideon is referred to as mighty, or when the angel talks about the deeds he can accomplish, it is always attached to the presence of God.

So, Gideon is hearing two messages. The first message is that he has to do something. He can't just be a passive observer. If Israel is going to be set free he must take action!

That is actually what God's grace really looks like. Many people think of grace as only forgiveness of sins. They assume that grace is just what you need when you mess up. But grace as forgiveness is only a small percentage of grace. But God's grace actually works in concert with our effort. We give our best effort, and God adds supernatural grace and presence to bring the results.

There is a story that Dallas Willard told about a time when God spoke to him just as he was about to preach before a large crowd. He says that as he rose to stand before the podium, he heard God say, “Remember, it’s what I do with the Word between your lips and their hearts that matters.” In that moment he realized that God alone was accountable to produce the result, and he was only responsible for his preparation.

That's what life with God looks like. We give our effort, God adds his presence. This is why trusting God is absolutely vital. For he is the wind that causes our sail boat to move where it needs to go. Without him we are just drifting. 

But now let us be honest. All this talk about having a trusting relationship with God sounds simple, doesn't it? But it’s not easy to go from living a life of complete reliance and dependence upon ourselves, to a life of dependence upon God. Because we’ve been conditioned, for the most part, to rely on ourselves. We work hard, we grind it out, we study, and we do so in an attempt to secure our own future by our own effort. To be sure, this is admirable, to have that type of work ethic is a good thing.

But when we start trying to move from people who are used to securing our own life by our strength, to people who primarily trust in God, we run into a wall. And many of us are at that wall. We’ve placed our confidence in our intellect, our positions, our prestige. That has been our way of being for a long time.

Like Gideon, we know the stories of the Bible. We know how God delivered Israel. We pray, we worship, we give, we serve. We even trust that God will secure our eternal destiny in heaven when we die. But if we our being honest, the majority of us might admit that we struggle trusting God with our day to day activities. Heaven? Sure. Tuesday? I better handle that myself.So the question for us is, How can we go from becoming people who primarily rely on ourselves, to people who primarily trust and rely on God?

To find the answer to this question, I want to look at a part of the Gideon story that we haven't yet covered. It’s found in the 7th chapter of Judges.After the angel told Gideon over and over and over again that he will be victorious over the Midianites, and after several moments where Gideon has been reassured that God is truly with him, we still find Gideon being a little bit apprehensive to do what God has called him to do.

Look at him in verse 9 of Judges 7, he is all set for the attack, he has the men that God selected for him to lead, he has everything he can possibly use to go to battle… but he is still afraid. Still afraid! After all that’s happened, he is still fearful!So, “the Lord says to him, “Get up, attack the camp; for I have given it into your hand." Now check this out… "But if you fear to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah; and you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to attack the camp.”

In other words, God is telling Gideon, if you still don't trust that I will be with you in this battle, you are going to have to do something to develop that trust. You’re going to have to do something that makes you vulnerable, your going to have to do something courageous, you’re going to have to face your fears if you will ever come to know and trust that I will be with you like I said I would.

Therefore, go down to the very edge of the armies camp, the same army that you’re afraid of, sneak down there, and you will discover that what I said is true. It is there that you will find the courage to trust me.See, most people who are following God live between the fences of knowing that God exists, and knowing that God is actually with them. Many of us are like Gideon, we’ve heard the promises, we know the bible, we’ve prayed, we’ve worshiped, and on and on, but we still find ourselves paralyzed with fear. We still find it difficult to trust God.

So, like Gideon, the only way we will ever learn to trust God, is by doing something that will take a little courage, it might require us to face our fears. We are going to have to do something that will place us in a position where we can learn that God is trustworthy.

See God is not just some theory or philosophy, He is a person, 3 in 1 and 1 in 3. And the way we come to know people is by becoming vulnerable to them. We have to risk something! Whether it is a first date, or a baby sitter, or a new employee, we always take risks to see whether or not we can really trust people.But for some reason, when it comes to God, we want to take a weird non-risky approach. We just want to study enough until it happens. Friends, I think we can safely say that that approach won’t work. Over a hundred years of curriculum based studies has proven that it doesn't work. Therefore, we must take a step of faith, even if it is a small one. Because when we do take that step, the promise of the Bible is that God will reward our seeking with the knowledge of his presence.

On my ever expanding list of pet peeves, you will find an utter dislike for the way the Bible is often partially represented in public. It seems that the world is addicting to pulling out cute scriptures and turning them into wallpaper or something. But the one I particularly dislike is when Jeremiah 29:11 is partially stated.

Here is how we usually see it quoted:

To be sure, this is a powerful message of God’s love for us… powerful, but incomplete. And because it is incomplete few people ever enter into the reality of it.

Here is how the thought continues in the following verses:

You see, God wants us to know that we can trust him. But we will never come to know that we can trust him, unless we seek to find him as trustworthy. When we face our fears, creep down to the edge of the camp, as it were, we will discover that the God we serve is a God who can be trusted. 

Here is what Gideon heard when he snuck down to the camp. Verse 13 in Judges 7 begins, “When Gideon arrived, there was a man telling a dream to his comrade; and he said, "I had a dream, and in it a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell; it turned upside down, and the tent collapsed." And his comrade answered, "This is no other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel; into his hand God has given Midian and all the army." When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped; and he returned to the camp of Israel, and said, "Get up; for the Lord has given the army of Midian into your hand.”

When you and I step out on faith. When we have the courage to trust God, we will experience that God will reward our seeking of him, with knowledge of his presence with us. And when we know that God is with us, we will see each and every opportunity or obstacle ahead of us, as something that lies within the realm of possibility. Because, “With God, all things are possible.”

Have the courage to see. Have the courage to go. But know that you will only realize the vision of God by having the courage to trust in him.