This is the eleventh article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling. I sometimes use other names for this ministry, such as Personal Prayer Ministry and Biblical Healing and Deliverance. The adjective "wonderful" is used because Jesus is the "wonderful Counselor" of Isaiah 9:6. This ministry attempts to make room for Jesus to personally counsel people by means of the indwelling Holy Spirit, with human ministers acting as facilitators. This makes it different from most counseling. It is highly effective at teaching the recipient how to hear the voice of the Spirit and to receive his life giving words.
The opening scene in Judges 6 shows Gideon threshing wheat in a wine press. Wine presses were located in valleys which made them generally less visible to prying eyes. Wheat was usually threshed on top of hills where there likely would be more of a breeze to separate the heavy wheat from the lighter chaff, when the mixture was thrown into the air. Gideon chose to work in the less efficient wine press for fear that Israel’s enemies, the invading Midianites, might see him, steal his crops, and perhaps even injure or kill him. He was a fearful and oppressed person who was intimidated by his oppressor – not a likely candidate for being a hero.
The angel of the Lord stood under a tree watching all this, most likely a little amused because he knew what was coming. God’s sense of humor can be found throughout the Bible. If we need more proof, consider that he made you and me.
God loves to choose unlikely people to accomplish the seemingly impossible because it gives him pleasure, fulfillment to us, and brings glory to his name.
God selected Gideon to lead Israel to victory over apparently insurmountable odds. The Lord picked a man who was fearful, insecure, and small in his own eyes, a man who at the time had very little faith in God because he believed some very big lies.
Imagine Gideon’s surprise when he heard the angel’s greeting.
The LORD’s messenger appeared and said to him, “The LORD is with you, courageous warrior!” Judges 6:12 (NET1)
Gideon must have been taken aback by this announcement because he believed neither of these things. He saw no evidence that God was with him and certainly did not believe he was a courageous warrior. When God starts to work on destroying the lies in which we trust, he doesn’t beat around the bush. By addressing Gideon in this way, the Lord prompted Gideon to state what he believed on a heart level.
Exposing the Lie
Getting the lie into the open is a great first step toward freedom.
Gideon said to him, “Pardon me, but if the LORD is with us, why has such disaster overtaken us? Where are all his miraculous deeds our ancestors told us about? They said, ‘Did the LORD not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.” Judges 6:13 (NET1)
Let’s look at some of the key words: if, why, where, and but. We often reveal the lies we believe when we use these words.
Satan loves to insert an “if” into the equation to inspire doubt in God’s character, God’s promise, and God’s plan.
The “if” was derived from the why and where. Gideon showed that he depended on his own powers of deduction rather than on God’s character and promises. Paul called this a “stronghold” – a logical speculation or argument derived from our experience or observations that prevents us from knowing and trusting in God. (2 Corinthians 10:4-6) Gideon saw that disaster had overcome Israel and that no known miracles had taken place in his day. This led him to conclude or speculate that God was no longer on Israel’s side and that he was not doing anything powerful at all. This logical argument stood between him and the experience of deliverance and freedom. It blocked him initially from simply believing God’s word to him.
The “but” surfaced the lie in which Gideon trusted: God had abandoned Israel, he thought, leaving them powerless against their enemies.
In Gideon’s lie-based worldview, God was not present and Israel had no hope, thereby providing Gideon with no basis for faith from which to derive courage.
The lie was now out in the open, as was Gideon’s unbelief. Gideon had been paralyzed by lies of abandonment and powerlessness, two of the most prevalent lies we all must face and conquer.
Once the embedded lie is exposed, the Lord desires to speak his truth into our lives, which will demolish the stronghold, if we hear, receive, believe, and act on it.
The devil loves to hide in the darkness, and he wants our lie-based arguments and speculations to swirl around in our minds pulling us deeper into the abyss of unbelief, fear, and confusion. Once these lies are exposed to the light of God’s truth, they tend to dissipate like the morning mist.
Lies cannot coexist with truth, just as darkness and light cannot exist side by side.
The Power of a Personal Word from God
God’s answer to Gideon was a “rhema” word to him. I use the Greek word for “word,” “rhema,” to describe the experience of God’s revealing himself and his eternally true logos Word to us by the Spirit. In other words, a “rhema” word makes the eternally true “logos” Word found in the Bible both personal and faith inspiring.
A personal “rhema” revelation of truth has the power to destroy lies and transform us.
God’s rhema word to Gideon invited him to see things as God did and to believe the truth that the Lord was still with him and is much bigger than any fear or enemy.
Then the LORD himself turned to him and said, “You have the strength. Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! Have I not sent you?” Judges 6:14 (NET1)
We should pay close attention to what happened in this verse. Suddenly it was no longer God’s messenger speaking: now it was the Lord himself. My next sentence is one of the biggest keys to being set free. This truth is able to unlock some of the strongest prison doors.
In order for us to be delivered from deeply embedded lies, we must hear the Lord himself speak his truth to our hearts.
This is called revelation in the Bible and comes via the Holy Spirit.
God can speak through another person, a Bible verse or passage, or by his Spirit in the inner recesses of our hearts. In this case, it was through a pre-incarnational appearance of the Lord. God’s rhema to Gideon smashed both of the lies in which Gideon trusted: God had not abandoned him or Israel, and Gideon was not powerless because God was with him.
When the Light of the world, Jesus, enters our hearts, darkness is dispelled.
God himself told Gideon that he had the strength to deliver Israel and gave him the command to go do it. Gideon still has his doubts, however, because there were yet more lies to be confronted.
Gideon said to him, “But Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family.” 16 The LORD said to him, “Ah, but I will be with you! You will strike down the whole Midianite army.” Judges 6:15-16 (NET1)
“But Lord!” How contradictory are these two words when used side by side! Here Gideon revealed that his calculations did not include God at all. He still saw things through the lens of his own inadequacies and failed to factor in God’s ability and power. (Don’t we all tend to do this?) When we make excuses for not doing what God commands us, it reveals that we believe that God is either not with us or not up to the task of enabling us.
Our unbelief clearly indicates we doubt either God’s trustworthiness, power, or his love – or maybe all three.
In other words, unbelief impugns God’s character and negates his power; whereas, faith upholds both.
Only faith glorifies God. Peter Block wrote in his book, The Answer to How Is Yes, that when we commit to do something, negativity evaporates and we begin to use our faith to become creative problem solvers. The “how” of unbelief does not calculate on God and makes excuses for disobedience; whereas, the “yes” of faith moves forward in obedience trusting that God will somehow come through.
When the Lord reaffirmed that he would be with Gideon, he revealed the key to living the faith life – God is always with us.
Jesus is Immanuel – God with us. I cannot overemphasize the importance of this truth.
The root of many deeply embedded lies is a deep sense of abandonment by God.
This derives from humanity’s actual separation from him in the Garden of Eden because of our sin. But Genesis 3:15 reveals that God never actually abandoned us at all. He promised Adam and Eve that one of their descendants would crush the head of the serpent – Satan. This is the Bible’s first messianic promise.
Because Jesus, our Messiah and Immanuel, died and rose again, no one who believes in him needs to experience life apart from God any longer. (John 14:16)
When we imagine that we do, it reveals how far we still have to go in our understanding of grace and how sinfully independent our thinking still is.
Amazingly, God allows us to collaborate with him in life and when we face obstacles. This is one of the great joys of being a follower of Christ. We are not alone any longer! God delights to use us, even though, ultimately, all the glory will go to him, because he alone is able to pull off the miracle. What a joy for us to be his partner! When God allows us to participate, he shares his power, glory, and honor with us in a similar fashion as the moon shares the sun’s glorious radiance. The moon has no light of its own, yet it shines beautifully in the night sky. We have no power or glory of our own, yet we can win great victories when we obey God and trust him completely.
God’s grace shines through us, despite our weaknesses.
But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. 10 Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NET1)
When God made Gideon a promise that he would be with him, it should have confirmed to him that God was loyal and loving toward him; but, he was still not convinced of where he stood with God. This is a common problem for many of us – yes, even with Bible-believing followers of Christ. Because we are at least partially aware of our own faults and shortcomings, we cannot imagine that God could be truly pleased with us or use us in any significant way.
This shows that we have negated God’s gracious promises with a lie-based argument, which causes us to miss a central point of the gospel of grace. No one can possibly be good enough to please God: that is why Jesus had to die for us.
The mindset that God cannot use us is sinful and must be repudiated.
When we receive the benefits of the finished work of Christ by faith, not only are we forgiven, but we are completely reconciled to God. We become members of God’s family and true friends. God provides the Spirit of his Son to indwell us. We have been given the Son of God’s relationship with the Father, minus the divinity part; therefore, when God looks at us, he is as pleased with us as he is with his Son.
Consequently, because of our relationship with God, our commission to be his representatives on the earth, and the indwelling Spirit, we are able to do whatever he tells us.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God’s children. Romans 8:15-16 (NET1)
But Gideon did not know this, since he lived in a time before Christ’s death and resurrection. Even though God told him he was highly favored, he still wanted further proof.
So Gideon said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me. Judges 6:17 (NASB)
If you are like me, you might be thinking that God was beginning to get a little impatient with Gideon, as he did with Moses when he made excuse after excuse. But that was not the case. God was calling and commissioning Gideon to do the impossible; so, he was willing to corroborate his word to him.
The greater the task the more willing is God to make it plain to us. He knows that our faith needs bolstering.
Gideon offered the Lord a sacrifice, which God accepted by consuming it on the spot with fire in which the angel disappeared from sight. Gideon promptly went from doubt that it was God to doubt as to whether he would continue to live after seeing God. You have to admit this is at least a little humorous. After receiving an assurance that he would not die, Gideon built an altar to the Lord there, naming it “Jehovah-Shalom” – the Lord is peace, security, wholeness, success, or prosperity. All of the these concepts are rolled up into one word – shalom. I like how the New English Translation translates Jehovah-Shalom: “The Lord is on friendly terms with me.”
God took Gideon from doubting his good intentions to worshiping him for showing shalom towards his servant.
By revealing himself as Jehovah-Shalom, God shattered the foundation of several strongholds at once.
Once again, God revealed himself personally with a “rhema” word. He nullified the lie that God did not favor Israel or Gideon. He broke the power of the lie that God is not able to give victory over his circumstances and fears. Shalom declared that God was the provider of financial well being, healing, success, victory, and peace. Gideon’s faith in these truths would later be tested even further; so, Gideon could come to know this amazing God of shalom better.
Faith grows when it is tested, just as muscles are strengthened by exertion.
The Lord moved quickly on the heels of Gideon’s breakthrough revelation. It is important for us to realize that God does not reveal himself to us just for fun. It is to prepare us for what he has called us to do. That same night God gave Gideon his first big job, one that confronted his remaining fears to the core. I find it ironic and intensely interesting that God would reveal himself as Gideon’s peace (shalom) just before commissioning him to fight.
Peace is not the absence of conflict. It is the presence of God that gives us the courage to fight the Lord’s battles.
That night the LORD said to him, “Take the bull from your father’s herd, as well as a second bull, one that is seven years old. Pull down your father’s Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole. 26 Then build an altar for the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.” Judges 6:25-26 (NET1)
In the afterglow of finding out that God favored him and was with him, Gideon was told to provoke the anger of the local idol worshipers, which included members of his own family. This man who went out of his way to stay hidden from danger now was told to stir up trouble and bring down the wrath of the community upon his head. Gideon obeyed, but stuck to his old ways of trying to stay hidden. He did the deed at night with the help of ten associates.
The command to build an altar on top of the idolatrous stronghold is especially significant. Not only does God intend to smash our lie-based strongholds, but he plans to transform their rubble into a place of worship for us, building an altar faith and devotion to God upon which we can give ourselves unreservedly to him.
From the rubble of our smashed strongholds likely will emerge our ministry to the Lord and other people.
As expected, the local townspeople threatened Gideon, but God preserved his life. His name was changed to Jerub-Baal, meaning “let Baal contend with him.” In other words, he became known for his brave and confrontational act of destroying the idols that offended God. God insulated him from men’s threats and violence by personally defending him. His own father, a former idolater-in-chief, defended his son when an angry mob wanted to harm him. God was indeed his “shalom.”
But this test was only the “warm up.” Next God told him to confront and defeat a vast horde of Midianites which oppressed Israel. In a very short time God took Gideon from fearing those invaders to becoming the captain of the minuscule force that defeated them. What an amazing turn around! But this next task required that Gideon become even more convinced that God was with him.
Strongholds run deep. Even though Gideon had obtained some deliverance, he still battled unbelief and fear, as is often the case with us. How could he be sure that this command was really the Lord? When the Lord asks us to do things within our “comfort zone,” we may obey him fairly promptly; but, when he tells us to do something of which we are afraid, suddenly we are not sure if it’s really the Lord! That is probably why God “broke in” Gideon with a lesser task first before sending him against a huge army.
If we are predisposed to unbelief because of our fears, we may lack confidence that we really have heard the Lord or have difficulty accepting even the most obvious confirmations. Fear lacks the ability to think clearly.
Understanding this human frailty, the Lord was very patient with our reluctant hero. When Gideon asked him for a double reverse sign involving a fleece, God obliged both times. On top of that, God even came up with a further sign to help fortify Gideon’s faith. He told him to venture near the enemy’s camp, where he heard one of the enemy soldiers voice his interpretation of an ominous dream in which he predicted that Gideon and his army would prevail over them in battle. This was all Gideon needed. Gideon promptly marched back into camp and spoke rousing words of faith to his men.
When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God. Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up, for the LORD is handing the Midianite army over to you!” Judges 7:15 (NET1)
Isn’t it interesting that Gideon put more stock in a dream’s interpretation than he did in God’s direct promise? May God give us more reliance on his Word than in anything else!
But we get ahead of ourselves. God had previously reduced the size of Gideon’s army from 32,000 to 300, saying:
…“With the three hundred men who lapped I will deliver the whole army and I will hand Midian over to you. The rest of the men should go home.” Judges 7:7 (NET1)
God really does have a sense of humor, but I am sure it did not seem so at the time to Gideon. After thoroughly convincing Gideon that it was really He giving him the command to destroy the Midianites, God removed 99% of his army, giving the following reason:
… “You have too many men for me to hand Midian over to you. Israel might brag, ‘Our own strength has delivered us.’’ Judges 7:2 (NET1)
This is one of the ways God operates. He convinces us to sign on to his program and then removes from us some of the resources we thought we could count on. He does this so that we can learn to trust in him alone.
Even before reducing the size of the army, Israel was hugely outnumbered, but now the odds were ridiculous from a human point of view. If God did not do a major miracle, Gideon would go down in history as one of the biggest fools who ever lived. This must have been why God obliged him with the two fleece confirmations and gave him the interpretation of the enemy’s dream. Gideon needed to know that this adventure with God was legitimate. His life and that of his men, as well as Israel’s freedom, depended on it.
Well, if you don’t know the rest of the story, it’s in Judges 7. As you might have guessed, Gideon, with God’s help, triumphed and became one of the great heroes of Israel.
When we cooperate with God by allowing him to help us conquer our fears by smashing our strongholds of lies and unbelief, it is no telling what great things can be accomplished in God’s kingdom.
Maybe God has a Gideon-sized job for you? If so, you likely have a Gideon-sized set of embedded lies that need uprooting. Don’t be surprised if God requires you confront your fears head on. Draw near to him and let the Lord speak his loving truth into those hidden places in your heart. The truth will set you free.
Read Part 12: An Introduction to Overcoming Generational Devastation
