April 4

Judges 7:9-10, 15-22

A silly dream comes true

The Lord had told Gideon to send back most of the men in the Israelite army. He was left with only three hundred men. That night the Lord told Gideon to get up and attack the Midianite camp. Then He said, “If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant and you will hear what they are saying.”

So Gideon and his servant Purah went down to the edge of the camp. There they heard a man telling someone else about a dream he had. “I dreamt that a loaf of barley bread rolled into our camp and flattened a tent.”

The other person replied, “It is the sword of the Israelite, Gideon.”

When Gideon heard the man’s dream and what the other person said, he worshiped and praised God.

Does being afraid mean I don’t trust God?

God made us with a natural fear that keeps us from doing dangerous things and taking unnecessary risks. If we were scared of nothing at all, we might walk across a road without looking, jump off buildings, or tease crocodiles!

Fear is only good when it keeps us from doing daring things that could harm us. Fear is not good when it stops us from enjoying life, from being the best we can be, or from doing what God has planned for us.

The Lord called Gideon a brave man even though he was afraid (Judges 6:12). Being brave means trusting God enough to step out in faith and obey Him, even when our fear tells us the situation is unsafe.

Verse for today

When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?

Psalm 56:3-4