Where Be All His Miracles?

“And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” Judges 6:11-13 

The above passage takes place while the Israelites – because of their disobedience to God – are under the oppression of the Midianites. God has sent an angel to inform Gideon that he has been chosen to deliver the Israelites. As he appears to Gideon, the angel says – “The Lord is with thee…” to which Gideon responds – “…if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles?”

Like many of us so often do during an extended trial, Gideon had become so discouraged during this time of oppression that he had wrongly assumed God had just forsaken them.

A simple but important reminder this morning –

When trials seem to go on and on, we must not rely on our feelings to get us through but rather on the dependable, unchanging Word of God. Feelings are very unstable. Assumptions so often prove to be very wrong. Just because we may not sense God’s presence or see Him working does not mean He has forsaken us. God said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”. That, my friend, is His promise and we can depend on it!

“If the Lord be with us, we have no cause of fear. His eye is upon us, His arm over us, His ear open to our prayer – His grace sufficient, His promise unchangeable.” ~ John Newton