Gideon lived in a dark time. Israel was under the thumb of the Midianites, and the people were hiding in caves just to survive. When the Angel of the LORD finally appeared to him, Gideon started with a hard question.
Judges 6:13, “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.”
Gideon was looking backward. He had heard the stories of the Red Sea parting and the walls of Jericho falling, but his current reality was full of hunger and fear. He assumed that because he couldn’t see a miracle, God was no longer moving. He didn’t realize that he was actually standing in the middle of a miracle while he was asking for one; the Angel of the LORD was right there in front of him.
The Reason Miracles Felt Missing
The heavens hadn’t gone silent because God lost His power. The problem was much closer to home.
Judges 6:1, “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.”
Disobedience and circumstances can create a fog that makes it hard to see God’s hand. Gideon felt like the miracles were missing because Israel had walked away from the Miracle-Maker. When you are out of alignment with God, you lose your spiritual eyesight. You start focusing on the Midianites in your life instead of the Master of your life.
Often our own circumstances also act like a veil that keeps us from seeing His hand. We become so consumed by the pressure of the “Midianites” in our lives: the bills, the stress, our health and the consequences of our own choices, that we forget to look for the Master. Gideon was so busy threshing wheat in a winepress out of fear that he didn’t realize the very Presence of God was sitting under an oak tree right next to him.
It is easy to judge Gideon, but we do the exact same thing. In the New Testament, the disciples had just watched Jesus feed thousands of people with a few loaves and fishes. Yet, a few hours later, they were in a boat worrying about where they would get lunch.
Mark 8:17–18, “And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?”
A hardened heart is a blind heart. If you aren’t careful, you can watch God do the impossible on Sunday and be full of unbelief by Monday morning. The disciples missed the miracle because they were too focused on the physical bread and forgot the Power behind the bread.
Miracles Are All Around Us Today
People are still asking Gideon’s question today. They want to see fire fall from heaven or water turn into wine. But Jesus warned that many people seek miracles just for the physical “fix” rather than the spiritual truth.
John 6:26, “Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.”
The truth is, we are surrounded by miracles every single second. We often miss them because we aren’t looking for God; we are looking for a show.
* The Miracle of the Universe: Psalm 8:3 says, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained.” The stars stay in their courses and the earth rotates with absolute precision.
* The Miracle of Life: Every breath you take is a gift from God that you didn’t earn.
* The Miracle of Salvation: This is the greatest one. That a holy God would take a dead, stony heart and give it life is a bigger miracle than parting any sea.
The danger is not that miracles have stopped; it is that we have stopped recognizing the “time of thy visitation” (Luke 19:44).
From Hearing to Living
Gideon’s journey changed when he stopped talking about “their” miracles; the ones his fathers told him about, and started being part of “His” miracle. God answered Gideon’s question by giving him a command and a promise.
Judges 6:14, “And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?”
Gideon moved from being a spectator of the past to a participant in the present.
If you are asking, “Where are the miracles?” Maybe you need to stop looking for a show and start looking at your Savior.
We often miss what God is doing because it doesn’t look like what we expected. Gideon expected a giant army, but God gave him 300 men with pitchers and lamps. Don’t let your preconceived notions of what a miracle “should” look like cause you to miss what God is actually doing in your life right now. You might be standing in the middle of the very answer you’ve been praying for.
