A Life Without FearParaugs

Day 1: God Sees You

When we are first introduced to Gideon, the nation of Israel is in a world of hurt. They are under the oppressive rule of the Midianites, under whom they have suffered the loss of almost everything. The situation has become so desperate that we find Gideon hiding in a wine press where he was hoping to thresh some wheat so he would have food to eat.

You have to laugh a bit at this picture. You have Gideon cowering in a winepress when the “angel of the Lord” (God Himself) appears and utters the most bizarre words Gideon could imagine. “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” 

Gideon’s immediate response is, “Are you kidding me?! The Lord is with me? Don’t think so. Not seeing any evidence that God is around or even interested. And mighty warrior? Wrong guy! I’m scared spitless of the Midianites. Why do you think I’m hiding in this winepress threshing wheat?”

I love how Gideon is so honest with God. How he doesn’t hold anything back lays it all out there. 

Perhaps like Gideon, there’s something in your life right now that has you cowering in fear. And it feels like God has abandoned you. That God has turned His back on you. He doesn’t seem to hear you or seem to care about you or the situation you’re in.

But nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, that is a lie straight from the pit of hell. Regardless of what you may be facing or going through God sees you – right now, in this moment – and He is with you. 

The first step to a life without fear is to embrace the truth that there is never a moment when God does not see you and is not with you.

It’s not an accident that the first thing God uttered to Gideon was that he was not alone. God knew Gideon felt abandoned. Life was uncertain and frightening under the bondage of the Midianites. Gideon was convinced that all the suffering he was going through pointed to the fact that God had turned His back on him.

That’s why God knows He has to begin this conversation with the reassurance that He hasn’t forgotten Gideon. He wants Gideon to know, without a doubt, that the sovereign, all-powerful God had not abandoned him.

While God may be taking you through a season, He will never abandon you. He is always with you even when you may not feel His presence. Jesus was careful to make this clear just before He left this earth when He said in Matthew 28:20, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 

Note He said “always". Not just when things are going great. 

Always.

So as your first step of living a life without fear, take a moment right now and have that frank conversation with God about what you are struggling with. And thank Him for the fact that He is ever present in your life. That right now, in this moment, He is standing right beside you even though it may not feel like it with what you are facing today. 

Your circumstances are never indicative of God’s lack of presence in your life. You can rest assured, “The Lord is with you.” He sees you. Now, and always.