Why Does God Do Stuff Like This?

In the book of Judges we have the story of a man named Gideon. Gideon is chosen by God to deliver the Israelites from the Midianites. Gideon is not a warrior. He is not a powerful man. But God chooses him anyway. Gideon reluctantly agrees and then God reduces his army from over 30,000 to 300 people. Why does God do this? In chapter 7 we read that God does this so that everyone will know that God was the one who did the miraculous deliverance, not the people themselves. But this must have caused incredible stress on Gideon, don’t you think? Sure, God gives him three separate signs to bolster his confidence but ultimately Gideon has to trust God with his very life.

I don’t want to think about all the times that I’ve failed to do what God wanted because I thought the circumstances were against me or there were too many obstacles to overcome. I don’t really like to think about how I’ve messed up opportunities to show God’s might and power to a watching world. Yet, God continues to do things like this. Can you pray for me as I seek to understand what God is saying and differentiate that from what I want to hear? I desire to be a part of God’s great work but I’m frustrated with my own inability to discern what God desires and how to overcome my own fears. I admire Gideon but I get frustrated with God at times as to why He has to do stuff like this. Anyone out there like me?