God was unhappy with His people, the Israelites. These were the same people whom God had saved from the mean Pharaoh and had led across the Red Sea on dry land with the help of Moses.

Many years had passed since then, but even after witnessing God's amazing miracles, the Israelites continued to do things that made God sad. Whenever the Israelites did something wrong, God didn't bless them, but He allowed the Midianites to trouble them.

The Midianites were not nice to the Israelites at all. They would steal or destroy their crops and animals, making life very difficult for them. The Israelites had to hide in caves to stay safe from the Midianites. When the Israelites had lost everything and had nothing left, they finally called out to God for help. And just like always, God heard their cry and came up with a plan to help them.

The amazing thing is that even though God was not happy with the Israelites, He still listened to them and answered their prayers!

Gideon was busy separating wheat from its husk in a secret place so that the Midianites wouldn't find him and take away the wheat. It was then that an angel of the Lord appeared and sat beside him. The angel said to Gideon, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior." Gideon felt confused and asked, "But sir, if the Lord is with us, why all these bad things are happening to us? What about all the miracles our ancestors told us about, like crossing the Red Sea?"

The Lord replied, "Go with all your strength and save Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you to do it." Gideon began making excuses, saying, "But Lord, how can I save Israel? We are the weakest people in Manasseh, and I am the smallest and youngest in my family."

God smiled, but assured Gideon, "I will be with you, and together we will defeat all the Midianites." Gideon asked God for a sign to be certain that he was truly talking to God.

First, Gideon prepared an altar as an offering to God, which was their way of giving gifts and seeking forgiveness before Jesus died on the cross. He placed his offering of meat and unleavened bread on a rock, and suddenly, fire came from the rock, completely consuming the meat and bread. Then, the angel of the Lord disappeared.

At that moment, Gideon realized that it had been the angel of the Lord all along.

Later that night, the Lord instructed Gideon to dismantle the altar that his father had built for a pretend god named Baal and to cut down an Asherah pole, which was created for another false god that people wanted to worship.

The Israelites had started believing in these fake gods, and that's why God was angry with them. God is the only real and true God, while these wooden idols and statues couldn't do or hear anything.

So Gideon had demolished the altars with the help of his servants, the people became angry when they realized what he had done. However, they reasoned that if the pretend god Baal was truly powerful, he could punish Gideon. But, as expected, nothing happened to Gideon because Baal was just an imaginary god.

Although Gideon wanted to be certain that God would save the Israelites, so he asked for another sign. He placed a piece of wool from a sheep on the ground and requested that if dew only covered the fleece while the ground remained dry, he would know that God would save them.

In the morning, Gideon checked the wool and found it soaking wet, while the ground around it was completely dry. Still, Gideon sought one more sign. This time, he asked that the fleece would be dry while the ground would be wet. As expected, the next morning, Gideon found it just as he had asked.

Feeling reassured, Gideon gathered an army and set off for the Midianite camp. He was probably feeling quite confident since he had a large number of men to fight alongside him, and God had promised to help them win.

However, God had a different plan in mind. He told Gideon that his army was too large because he knew that the Israelites would believe they had won the battle on their own, without God's help.

So, God instructed Gideon to announce to the people, "Anyone who is afraid can go home now." Astonishingly, twenty-two thousand men chose to leave! That was more than half of the entire army, leaving only ten thousand behind.

Gideon thought it was still alright since they had ten thousand men, but God informed him that there were still too many.

When the men went down to the water for a drink, the Lord told Gideon, "Separate the men who lap the water like dogs from those who kneel down and drink from their cupped hands."

It must have taken quite some time with so many men, but Gideon followed God's instructions. Surprisingly, only three hundred men knelt down to drink water from their cupped hands, while the rest drank by lapping it like dogs.

God told Gideon that He only wanted the three hundred men, and the rest were to go home. This way, when they won the battle, the Israelites would know that it was God who was in control, with only three hundred men left.

Gideon didn't know how God would help them win. With so many Midianites against just three hundred of them, he worried and couldn't sleep. So, to ease Gideon's concerns, God decided to intervene and make him feel better about the upcoming battle.

During the night, the Lord spoke to Gideon, saying, "If you are still afraid that I will help you win, go down to the valley where the Midianites are staying with your servant Purah and listen to their conversation. You'll feel much better afterward."

Despite his fear, he took Purah and quietly made his way to the Midianite camp. Just as they arrived, Gideon overheard one of the Midianites talking to his friend about a dream he had. The man excitedly shared, "I dreamt that a round loaf of bread came rolling into our camp. It moved so swiftly that it crashed into one of our tents and caused it to collapse!"

His friend responded, "This dream must mean that the sword of Gideon and the help of God will defeat the Midianites."

As soon as Gideon heard this, he worshiped God and hurried back to his own camp. He gathered all the men and proclaimed, "Rise up! The Lord has given us the Midianite camp!"

Gideon divided the men into three groups and gave each of them a trumpet and an empty jar with a torch inside.

Quietly, Gideon and the men surrounded the Midianite camp in their designated groups, positioning themselves on elevated ground, overlooking the valley. When Gideon blew his trumpet, the others followed suit.

They sounded their trumpets and shouted, "For the Lord and for Gideon!" Then, they smashed the jars, revealing the torches held in one hand, while holding their trumpets in the other. They cried out, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!"

Upon hearing the trumpets and witnessing the sudden burst of light, the Midianites became frightened and began panicking, running around in confusion. As the sound of trumpets continued, the Lord caused the Midianites to turn against each other, attacking with their own swords.

The remaining Midianites who managed to escape were captured by the men of Ephraim near the Jordan River, as Gideon had sent messengers ahead to inform them of their arrival.

That was the day when God saved Gideon and defeated the Midianites. Gideon learned his lesson and stopped worrying. With God, nothing is impossible!

Remember, when you find yourself in a tough situation, know that God can give you strength, and He wants to help you. Just ask, and He will be there for you!