It’s commonly taught that at the start of Gideon’s story he didn’t have faith in what God told him to do. That Gideon had to test God, because of his unbelief. However, I’d like to challenge that thinking. 

First off, Gideon was found hiding in a cave “threshing wheat” which is normally done on a hilltop so that the wind can blow away the husks of the wheat and leave the seeds to be able to make bread. This is commonly portrayed as Gideon being a coward, but on the contrary, I believe that it’s wisdom. I say this because we see shortly before this passage, Judges 6, that the Midianites would steal the wheat when the people of Israel would thresh it. 

Another story that is common linked to Gideon’s disbelief is the one with the fleece. To paraphrase, God calls Gideon to defeat the Midianites, Gideon responds with a test for the Lord. The Lord fulfills the test, twice. To me, it doesn’t come across as Gideon isn’t trusting the Lord but that he is confirming that God was calling him to this and that it wasn’t just Gideon thinking that to be true. 

There are going to be times where God called you to do something that will require you to have faith in Him. And as it might be your desire, you may not always respond with yes. There might be times that you respond with a question or a test. Something to be learned from Judges 6 is that even in times that you respond with a question, God will still be faithful to meet you where you are at and walk alongside you.