The Most Anxious Man in the Bible

What the story of Gideon shows us about God

I’m an anxious guy. I wish I was never worried or doubtful about things, but I am. I get scared. I ask, “What if…?” instead of focusing on what is. I overthink, and sometimes, I get stuck, spinning my mental and emotional wheels in the mire of fear and angst. And let me tell you, it’s not fun. In fact, it stinks, but I have a feeling I’m not alone.

I’ve mentioned before that I am reading the Bible chronologically. A few days ago, I made it to Judges, and yesterday, I read chapters 6 and 7, the main body of Gideon’s story. Before diving into the text, let’s set up the context. In Joshua, the people crossed the Jordan River and began possessing the land, for “the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel” (Joshua 10:42). They were destroying the wicked nations and taking their cities because God was giving them the land. The last half of Joshua contains the tribal division of the land and the command for the people to continue possessing it by driving out its current inhabitants. The Israelites were neglecting to do this, and they were content to allow the idolatrous people to live among them, contrary to God’s commandments (see Joshua 18). Thus, God told the people that their failure to keep His covenant would have consequences: the people Israel didn’t drive out would be “thorns in [their] side” (Judges 2:3). In the rest of the book, that’s exactly what happened. Over and over again, the people would sin against God, He would send one of the nations to oppress them, they would cry out to Him for deliverance, and— because of His redeeming love— He would send a judge to rescue them from bondage.

Gideon enters the scene while “the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel” (6:2). Here’s how bad the oppression was according to verses 2-6.

Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains. So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey. For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were without number; and they would enter the land to destroy it. So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.

This was a scary time for God’s people. The Midianites and Amalekites were so harsh the people could barely produce enough food to survive. That is why Gideon was busy hiding wheat when the Angel of the LORD appeared to him (6:11). Notice how their interaction went in verses 12-16.

And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!”

Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”

Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”

So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”

This conversation is rich, and we can glean a lot from it. But I want to emphasize Gideon’s fear and God’s reassurance. When He first called Gideon, God was already trying to calm and comfort him. Gideon was distressed because he felt like God had forsaken His people, but the LORD told him that he was mighty and had been chosen for this mission by the almighty God. But, again, Gideon was scared and didn’t feel like he could do this. This time, God left no room for confusion: Gideon was capable because the LORD Himself would be with him. However, in the next verse, Gideon said, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me.” Again, he was anxious and needed comfort. Rather than telling Gideon to suck it up, God gave him a sign and made fire come out of a rock, consuming some bread and meat Gideon had placed upon it (6:21). This demonstration of grace moved Gideon to proclaim his faith in the LORD and build an altar to Him called “The-LORD-Is-Peace” (6:23).

The story continues, showing us more of Gideon’s anxiety and God’s patient response. Let’s read verses 36-38.

So Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said— look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water.

Though God had already told Gideon that He would be with him and had already given him a sign that He was (and is) the LORD, Gideon was still worried. And, as before, God patiently reassured His servant with another sign. Notice verses 39 and 40.

Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.” And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.

One round with the fleece was insufficient, and Gideon was still afraid. Once again though, God didn’t beat Gideon over the head for being anxious; He knew his heart and assuaged his fears.

The next morning, Gideon and his men gathered to prepare for the battle, but God said there were too many people. He told Gideon, the fearful leader, to send the scared ones home, and 22,000 people left, leaving 10,000, which was still too much. God designed a second test: the men who got down on their knees to drink from the river were also sent home. This left only 300 men under Gideon’s command, and they were supposed to fight the Midianites and Amalekites who were “without number” (6:5; 7:12). I’m sure Gideon was not at all anxious about this… right? Look at verses 9-11.

It happened on the same night that the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp.

I love this passage. After all that God had done for him, Gideon was still worried. And after all He had done for Gideon, God was still willing to reassure him. He knew that Gideon needed a little extra confidence, so He sent a dream to an enemy soldier about a loaf of barley bread that rolled into camp and toppled a tent. Additionally, He sent an interpretation of that dream to the soldier’s friend: “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp” (7:14). By God’s providence, these two soldiers shared these things within earshot of Gideon. Thus, God demonstrated His patience to Gideon, once again, and relieved his fears. And, as before, Gideon’s response to the LORD’s kindness was to worship Him (7:15).

In Matthew 6:25 and Luke 12:22, Jesus commands His followers not to worry. Paul encourages the church in Philippi to “be anxious for nothing” (Philippians 4:6). Therefore, we, as Christians, should strive to trust God and overcome our fears and anxieties. But I think this needs to be said because I think Gideon’s story proclaims its truthfulness: it is ok to be anxious. God is not angry with us when we are a little trepidatious; He is not infuriated by our fear. Instead, He calls us to humbly bring our anxieties to Him, finding strength, relief, and comfort there, for He is the God of peace. With each act of His grace, God moves us forward to a life of peace.

Gideon may not be the most anxious man in the Bible, but his story serves as a great example to those of us who struggle with anxiety like him. Let’s be like Gideon and find true peace in our loving God. Let’s never tire of asking Him to calm our fears. Let’s worship Him more passionately, knowing His love and patience endure forever. And let’s allow Him to transform our anxious hearts to dwell in His peace.