Gideon Is Afraid

Judges 6:2-4, 11-12

Our true story comes from a part of the Bible called the Book of Judges. A judge is someone who tells people what the law says.

We begin with a man named Gideon. 


Gideon was afraid.  He was afraid of the big . . . powerful . . . Midianite army! Gideon was afraid of the Midianite army because they would take everything from God’s people, the Israelites. If the Israelites had sheep, the Midianites took the sheep! If the Israelites had food, the Midianites took their food! If the Israelites had a place to sleep, the Midianites took that, too!


Gideon was so afraid of the Midianites that he decided to hide in a hole in the ground so they couldn’t see his food and take it away from him.


Well, God knew that Gideon was feeling afraid. God loved Gideon, and God wanted Gideon to know that the Lord was with him. So God sent an angel to Gideon.


The angel said, “Hey, Gideon! The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!” Wow! What an awesome thing for God to tell Gideon! Gideon felt much better after God talked to him. It helped Gideon be brave knowing that God was with him!


Do you think it’s okay for us to talk to God when we’re afraid? Yes! We can ALWAYS talk to God because God loves us no matter what. God wants us to know that we can always talk to Him about everything. Happy, sad, frustrated, afraid . . . God is with us, and God loves us no matter what. 






Bible Verse: Trust in the Lord with all your heart. —Proverbs 3:5, NIV

Text Truth: God loves me when I’m afraid.



Family Devotional

The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
—Judges 6:11-12

In our Bible story, we learned that we can always talk to God when we feel afraid like Gideon did. God knew Gideon was afraid, so He sent an angel to tell Gideon that the Lord was with him.

Do you remember why Gideon could talk to God about feeling afraid? Because God loved Gideon no matter what, and God loves you no matter what, too. And the Bible verse we’re learning will help us remember that we can ALWAYS trust God with ALL our hearts.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. —Proverbs 3:5, NIV

The Midianites made Gideon feel afraid. So, with your family, make a list of things that make you feel afraid. Have each family member write down one thing, and write their name next to their thing.

Pray with your family. Allow any family members to pray if they wish. In your own words, say, “Dear God, sometimes we feel afraid. [family member’s name] feels afraid when (read what they listed). And [family member’s name] feels afraid when (read what they listed then continue with each family member). Please help us remember that when we feel afraid, we can always talk to You about it, and You will love us no matter what. You’re the best, God. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

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Story illustrations are the copyright of Sweet Publishing and licensed by FreeBibleimages (http://freebibleimages.org) for free download under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike 3.0 unported license.
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