Sometimes we fail because of fear.
Judges 6:25-32 Now it happened on the same night that Yahweh said to him, “Take your father’s bull [a]and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the [b]Asherah that is beside it, 26 and build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold in an orderly manner, and take the second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as Yahweh had spoken to him; and now it happened that because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city to do it by day, he did it by night. 28 Then the men of the city arose early in the morning, and behold, the altar of Baal was torn down, and the Asherah which was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar which had been built. 29 And they said to one another, “Who did this thing?” And when they searched about and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash did this thing.” 30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has torn down the altar of Baal, and indeed, he has cut down the Asherah which was beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal, or will you save him? Whoever will contend for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has torn down his altar.” 32 Therefore on that day he named him Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he had torn down his altar.
How many times in your life have you been in circumstances like this? There seems to be no way out—damned if you do, damned if you don’t. That is exactly where the children of Israel found themselves in Exodus 14. Behind them was the most powerful army in the world, Pharaoh’s chariots thundering across the desert. In front of them was the Red Sea, an impassable barrier. They had no ships, no bridges, no escape routes—only a desperate situation that made obedience look foolish and retreat impossible. Many of us know what that feels like. It may be the moment when a doctor’s report brings frightening news and every option seems risky. It may be a financial crisis where the bills are piling up and there is no obvious way forward. It may be a decision about standing for what is right at work or at school, knowing that speaking up could cost you your reputation, your promotion, or even your job. It may be a family situation where every choice seems to lead to conflict or loss. In those moments, like Israel standing between the sea and the chariots, fear begins to whisper that there is no way out. But the lesson of Scripture is that when God’s people reach the end of their options, they are often standing at the very place where God is about to display His power.
Well, we were continuing last week with our series in the book of Judges, lessons out of failure, and we had come to the story of the next judge, Gideon. The nation of Israel, after Deborah as judge, had slid back into sin, and God had raised up a foreign power, Midian, against them. And after 7 years of oppression, they finally call out to God for help. That’s when God calls Gideon to rise up as their deliverer.
But what we found out last time about the nation and Gideon, is that they are a fearful lot. These Midianites raiders would swoop in during harvest by the thousands, riding camels, and they would cross the land stealing whatever they wanted, and wantonly destroying. And the people were rightly fearful. But instead of calling out to God, they hid in caves and dens and strongholds.
Gideon himself, when we first meet him, is threshing grain in a wine press, to hide from the Midianites. That’s why it is so ironic that when God sends an angel to him, he calls Gideon a “mighty man of valor.”
Well, our study of Judges isn’t just so we know the stories of the Bible. These stories are given for our instruction. We learn some lessons from them. We learn why it is that the nation of Israel and we keep falling back into sin and idolatry. There were many reasons that we’ve considered over these weeks. But last week we looked at this statement; Sometimes we fail spiritually because of fear. We noted a lot of fear in this story last time, and we noted some lessons we should learn from Israel. When you are fearful, call out to God first, count on God to supply every need, ask God what He would call you, remember that God is good. And that is where we left off last time.
So, God sent this angel to call Gideon. God had chosen Gideon to be Israel’s deliverer from the Midianites. And the angel was sent to him to give him that commission. And the last thing we remember is that Gideon was afraid. He wasn’t confident that he was the man for the job of leading an army to fight the Midianites. So, he asked for a sign. And the angel gave him a sign; the angel touched the food Gideon offered him with his staff, and it was totally consumed, and then the angel just vanished out of his sight.
So, that’s where we pick up with our story. Gideon now has his sign and is ready to do what God would bid him to do.
Prayer
Well, from the story of Gideon we have some more lessons from fear to learn this time; Here they are; first, In order to deal with fear, you’ve got to first deal with your home. second, You’ve Got to walk by faith, third you’ve got to rely on the Spirit of God to refresh you. Fourth, You’ve got to shore up your foundations for continued success.
Let’s begin with the first, In order to deal with fear, you’ve got to first deal with your home.
One of the most crucial moments in Gideon’s story comes in Judges 6:25–32, the passage we just read. The angel just commissioned Gideon to step up and lead the Children of Israel to fight against the Midianites. But there is a first task for Gideon that hasn’t been a first task for any of the preceding judges. Every other judge that God has called up to now, has just had to accept the call to lead an army. Not Gideon.
Gideon has some work to do at home, before he can lead the nation. The Lord commands him to take action not against Midian first, but against idolatry at home. Look at what it says in Scripture.
25 Now it happened on the same night that Yahweh said to him, “Take your father’s bull [k]and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the [l]Asherah that is beside it,
What? Let me get this straight. The guy that God called to be Israel’s deliverer from Midian, Midian, the foreign power that God sent to the Israelites to oppress them, the oppression that came because they had slid back into idolatry, Gideon, before he can go fight the Mideonites, has to tear down an idolatrous altar as his first mission.
God tells him to tear down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. The detail is striking: the altar belongs to Gideon’s father.
The altar of Baal and the Asherah pole at Gideon’s father’s house were likely part of a small open-air shrine common in Canaanite worship. The altar itself would probably have been a stone structure built of stacked fieldstones, several feet high, with a flat top where offerings were burned, its surface darkened with soot and ash. Beside it stood the Asherah pole, a tall carved wooden post planted in the ground, representing the fertility goddess associated with Baal. These two elements were typically placed together, forming a visible shrine that people could approach for sacrifices and prayers for crops and prosperity. It was likely situated just outside or near the family compound on slightly elevated ground, making it visible and accessible to others. The reaction of the townspeople in Judges 6 the next morning—when they come demanding an explanation and hold Gideon’s father responsible—strongly suggests this was not merely a private family idol but a local community shrine, maintained on Joash’s property but used by the surrounding villagers as part of their shared Baal worship.
What does this mean? It means that idolatry was not merely a national issue; it is personal. It is local. It is embedded in Gideon’s family structure. The enemy is not only out there in the fields with Midianite raiders—it is in his backyard.
Let me ask this question. See if this sounds like you. Because I know it sounds like me. How many times have you faced difficulties and fears that grew out of your own disobedience? How many times have things happened in your life that you, at least privately, had to acknowledge, that arose out of your own decisions and sins. You’ve got Midianites on the border, because you’ve got idols in your home?
You might say, “Why brother Bruce, I don’t know what you mean.” Let’s be honest. God gives us commands that we violate, and then wonder later why we’re left with chaos.
God tells us to choose a godly mate, and people ignore that counsel, marrying someone who does not share their faith—and then they wonder why the home is filled with spiritual tension. God commands parents to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, yet many leave spiritual training to chance, and later wonder why their children drift away from the faith. Scripture says to owe no man anything, yet people pile up debt, chasing things they cannot afford, and then live under constant financial pressure. God warns us to guard our tongues, not to gossip or tear others down, yet careless words fracture friendships and divide churches. And the Bible tells us to work for our employers as though we were serving the Lord Himself, yet when people cut corners, complain, or refuse diligence, they often reap consequences in their work and reputation. Over and over again, God’s commands are not given to restrict our lives—they are given to protect them. But when we ignore those commands, we should not be surprised when trouble begins to gather around us.
Now, this is again one of those instances where I am pointing a finger out to you, with four fingers pointed back at me. I often look back over my life and my lack of spiritual diligence and wonder how any of it has resulted in goodness. It’s God’s grace.
But here’s the reality for Gideon. Gideon cannot expect to be used by God as a Savior, and revivalist, inspiring Israel to return to God, breaking the cycle of fear that he and the nation are in, when he has idols set up in his own yard. And the same is true for us.
The narrative emphasizes that spiritual renewal must begin at home.
So, what happens? Well, let’s read it again.
25 Now it happened on the same night that Yahweh said to him, “Take your father’s bull [k]and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the [l]Asherah that is beside it, 26 and build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold in an orderly manner, and take the second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as Yahweh had spoken to him; and now it happened that because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city to do it by day, he did it by night.
Here’s that fear that has been a constant theme in this story. He goes and tears down the idols and sets up an altar to God and sacrifices a bull on it. Well, if he thought he could keep it secret, he didn’t. The people figure out who did it. And they come to his father, asking that Gideon be turned over to them. They want to kill him. I love his father’s response.
31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal, or will you save him? Whoever will contend for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has torn down his altar.”
He essentially says, “If Baal is such a mighty god, why does he need you to defend his honor?” If Baal is offended with what my son has done, let him strike my son down.” And that put a stop to the mob.
Well, let’s look at a second lesson; you’ve got to walk by faith. So, verse 33 describes how the Midianites came up again, as they had in the past.
33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
In Judges 6:33, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern tribes crossed the Jordan River from the desert regions to the east and gathered their forces in the Valley of Jezreel, a broad and fertile plain in northern Israel that served as a natural corridor between the Jordan Valley and the Mediterranean coast. This valley, roughly twenty miles long, is surrounded by hills and mountains—Mount Gilboa to the south, the hills of Galilee to the north, and Mount Carmel to the west—forming a wide natural battlefield. For nomadic raiders with camels, the flat, open land filled with crops made it an ideal place to camp and plunder the surrounding region. From the nearby hill country of Manasseh, where Gideon lived, the Israelites would have been able to look down and see the valley spread with enemy tents and livestock, emphasizing just how overwhelming the invading army appeared as it occupied the very farmland Israel depended on for survival.
But verse 34 goes on to say
34 But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him. 35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
Geographically, Gideon’s call to arms begins in the hill country of Manasseh, around his hometown of Ophrah, which sits just south of the Valley of Jezreel. When he blows the trumpet, the men of Abiezer—his own clan within Manasseh—gather first from the nearby hills, and then messengers spread the call across the tribal territories to the north and northwest. Warriors come from Manasseh, and from the northern tribes of Asher along the Mediterranean coast, Zebulun in the hills west of the Sea of Galilee, and Naphtali in the mountainous region north of the Sea of Galilee, all converging southward toward Gideon near the Jezreel Valley to confront the Midianite forces camped on the plain.
And now, this would be the part of the story where Gideon takes those forces and attacks and wins the day. God called him, he responded, he cleaned up his own house, the enemy came, he calls the forces, the battle begins and God wins the day. But this is not just any judge or deliverer. This is Gideon the fearful. Gideon the asker for signs or something like that. He doesn’t immediately go on the offensive, this is what happens.
36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, 37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
What’s happening here? God has called you Gideon, to fight the enemy. You’ve gathered your forces. The enemy is right down there. But he doesn’t go to God and say, “Okay Lord, what’s the battle plan.” He goes to the Lord and says, “Give me a sign.” And not just that. It struck me how fearful this is. Gideon says to God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,.... then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
“if you will save us, you said you would save us, give me a sign that you will save us, as you said you would save us.” He doesn’t need a sign! He already knows that God said He would save them. This isn’t faith, it is fear. We need to walk in faith, not fear. And here’s the key. Do you know what faith is? I’ll tell you what it is not. Faith is not coming up with your own ideas, presenting them to God, and then believing down to your BVD’s that God will do what I want Him to do. That idea of faith has to be uprooted from the church and from the heart of every Christian.
Let me give you an example; You apply for a job that you really want. You pray about it. You’ve got family members praying that you will get it. And one well-meaning friend, trying to encourage you says, “You’ve just got to have faith.” You don’t get the job. Now, did God fail? Did your faith fail? No, because Biblical faith is not believing really hard in what you want. Biblical faith is believing in what God has said in His word. In that circumstance, Biblical faith would say, “I believe God will provide my needs. I believe God is at work sanctifying me. I believe God knows more than I do. I believe God knows the future.” But Biblical faith is not saying, “I’m gonna get that job because I have faith.”
But what’s the deal with Gideon? Why is he asking for a sign, when God has already spoken. 3 times already God spoke; the angel appeared to him, he later was instructed to tear down the altar, and then the Spirit inspired him to blow the trumpet to call his army to himself. Yet, here he is again asking for a sign. This is what it says
36 Then Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand, as You have spoken, 37 behold, I will 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 will know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have spoken.” (When the dew comes in the morning, I want the wool fleece to be wet with dew, and the ground dry.) 38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
Note something here, a day has gone by. The Midianites are there, Gideon’s army is there, and we’re waiting for Gideon to measure wrung out water in a bowl. But we’re not done.
39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
This is the height of fearfulness. I bet Gideon was thinking, “oh, I asked for the wrong sign. ‘Cause naturally the ground would dry before the fleece. I better reverse that. I want the fleece dry and the ground wet.
And remarkably, God did it.
40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
Gideon asks for a sign three times. God gives it.
Here’s a next lesson. Spiritually we cannot rely on our own plans, reasonings, or assurances. We have to lean on the Spirit of God. We have to lean on the Comforter.
Here is the irony of Gideon asking for so many reassurances. After Gideon gets those reassurances, the signs that validate to Gideon that God will deliver Midian into his hands, God reduces his forces two times. Think on that for a minute. Before he asked for 2 more signs, he had a bigger army. Then he asks for a double reassurance that this army he has gathered will prevail. God says “yes” twice. Then when Gideon is good. He’s thinking, “Okay, I can do this.” God says, “your army is too big.” Listen.
Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
2 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead.
God says, “make an announcement to the people.” “Anybody afraid?” “Uh, yeah” “go home.”
And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.
Over two thirds of the army went home. Then what did God do?
4 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.
5 So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.
Here’s the distinction between these two groups; those who bowed down just put their faces to the water and drank straight from the stream. Those who lapped as dogs, scooped up water from the stream and drank out of their hands. They were still standing or crouched, able to drink and watch at the same time.
6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. 7 And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place. 8 So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
From 32,000 to 300. What kind of statement is this. I’ll tell you what kind of statement it is.
2 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
Spiritual battles are won by God’s Spirit, not human devices. And when we face fear, we need to remember that. We can do our best planning, and thinking, and considering all the options, but we must always, always, always, make sure that we lift our voices to God and say,
Psalm 127:1 “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”
We know this Lord, so you work this out for your will and purposes, and for our good, beyond any of our wisdom.
Proverbs 21:31 “The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord.”
Proverbs 16:9 “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.”
Proverbs 19:21 “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.”
The irony of Gideon’s army is unmistakable: the smaller the army becomes, the clearer it will be that victory belongs to the Lord. God deliberately removes numbers as a refuge so that dependence replaces confidence in strength. In shrinking Gideon’s army, He magnifies His own power, ensuring that when Midian falls, no one will mistake the source of deliverance.
One further note on this lesson; you’ve got to rely on the Spirit of God to refresh you. God tears down Gideon’s force to 300 men. But as I said in a previous point, God knows what we need, and He will supply what we need.
In Judges 7:9–15, we see one more remarkable expression of God’s patience with Gideon’s trembling faith. On the very night before the battle, the Lord tells Gideon “If you are afraid to go down to battle, go with Purah your servant down to the camp.” God names the fear that Gideon has not confessed. He does not rebuke him. Instead, He provides reassurance. Gideon descends quietly to the edge of the Midianite camp and overhears a soldier recounting a dream about a barley loaf tumbling into the camp and overturning a tent.
So he went with Purah his young man down to the [f]outskirts of the armed men that were in the camp. 12 Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. 13 Then Gideon came, and behold, a man was recounting a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I [g]had a dream; [h]a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it [i]upside down so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his friend answered and said, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand.”
Another soldier interprets it immediately: “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon… for into his hand God has delivered Midian.” The confirmation comes not through another fleece, but through the lips of the enemy. This confirmation comes, not because Gideon asked for a sign, but because God knew Gideon’s fear. And when Gideon hears it, he worships.
The moment is tender and instructive. God accommodates Gideon’s fear—He gives him what he needs to steady his heart—but He never presents fear as the ideal.
Well, you know what happens in the battle.
In the darkness of the night, Gideon quietly divided his three hundred men into three groups and positioned them around the massive Midianite camp spread across the valley below. Each soldier carried an unusual set of weapons for battle: a trumpet in one hand and a clay jar hiding a burning torch. At the beginning of the middle watch, just after the enemy guards had changed and the camp had settled into the deepest part of the night, Gideon gave the signal. Suddenly the stillness exploded with sound and light. Trumpets blared from every side of the camp, clay pitchers shattered against the rocks, and blazing torches burst into view in the darkness. The men shouted together, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” From the Midianites’ perspective, it sounded as if a vast army had surrounded them. Panic swept through the camp; soldiers stumbled from their tents in confusion, unable to tell friend from foe in the darkness. In the chaos the Lord turned their own swords against one another, and the entire host broke into a terrified flight toward the Jordan Valley. As they fled eastward, Gideon summoned the tribes of Israel to pursue them, and the men of Ephraim cut off the escape routes at the river crossings, capturing and killing the Midianite princes Oreb and Zeeb and bringing their heads back to Gideon as proof that the enemy had been decisively defeated.
In Judges 7:16–25, the victory over Midian unfolds in a way that leaves no room for human boasting.
We have considered what we do with fear; When you are fearful, call out to God first, count on God to supply every need, ask God what He would call you, remember that God is good. In order to deal with fear, you’ve got to first deal with your home. You’ve Got to walk by faith, you’ve got to rely on the Spirit of God to refresh you.
There is a last lesson in dealing with fear here, you’ve got to shore up your foundations for continued success.
Judges 8 provides a sobering final lesson about fear and success in Gideon’s life. After God’s miraculous victory, the people ask Gideon to become their ruler and establish a dynasty. Gideon gives the correct answer, saying that the Lord alone will rule over Israel, yet his actions begin to contradict his words. He gathers gold from the spoil and fashions an ephod in his hometown of Ophrah, which becomes a spiritual snare as the people begin to treat it like an object of worship. The irony is tragic: the man who once tore down his father’s altar to Baal now creates something that leads Israel toward idolatry. Gideon had overcome fear of the Midianites, but success opened the door to pride and misplaced influence. His story reminds us that defeating one spiritual weakness does not guarantee safety from another—fear may weaken faith, but pride can corrupt it just as deeply, and even those used greatly by God must guard their hearts after victory.
After we come through fearful times, we’ve got to shore up our foundations for continued success. This is such a great way to end Gideon’s lesson on fear leading to failure. God can lead us through fear, bring us to a victory in our lives. But if we don’t learn the lessons from fear, we end up repeating the same mistakes.
Heavenly Father,
We come before You humbled by Your Word and by the lessons we see in the life of Gideon. Lord, You know how often fear rises in our hearts. Your Word tells us, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God” (Isaiah 41:10). And yet we confess that many times we allow fear to guide our decisions instead of trusting in You. Forgive us, Lord, for the times we have doubted Your promises or hesitated to obey Your commands.
Father, help us to remove every idol from our lives and our homes. Your Word calls us, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21), and like Gideon tearing down the altar of Baal, give us the courage to tear down anything in our lives that competes with our devotion to You.
Lord, teach us to walk by faith and not by sight. Your Word reminds us, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Help us to trust what You have spoken rather than looking constantly for signs or reassurances. Strengthen our faith so that when fear whispers doubt, we answer with the truth of Your Word.
Father, we also confess that we cannot overcome fear or fight spiritual battles in our own strength. As You have said, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Fill us with Your Spirit. Guide our steps. Remind us that “except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it” (Psalm 127:1). Help us to remember that “the horse is prepared for the day of battle, but safety is of the Lord” (Proverbs 21:31).
And Lord, when fear rises in our hearts, teach us to come to You first. Your Word says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God… shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7). Grant us that peace when we feel surrounded like Israel at the Red Sea or like Gideon looking down at the valley filled with enemies.
Finally, Father, guard our hearts even after You bring victory. Keep us humble so that we do not fall into pride or forget the One who delivered us. As Your Word warns us, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). Help us to remember always that the victory belongs to You.
We thank You for Your patience with us, for Your mercy when we are weak, and for Your power that is made perfect in weakness. Strengthen our faith, calm our fears, and lead us in obedience day by day.
We ask these things in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ.