阅读经文 

听到一条新闻消息，然后怀疑这条消息是否值得信赖，这是很自然的。今天的情况和以往一样，尤其是当群体和国家处于压力之下，经常听到相互矛盾的信息时，更是如此。

在橡树下被主的天使接近的基甸，是一个向神呼求、等待帮助的群体的一员。但大多数人也对神不忠。（参士 6:1-10）即便如此，神还是来拯救他们。

基甸的百姓需要从邻邦的敌人那里获得解救，这些敌人正在掠夺和毁坏他们的庄稼。基甸为了不被敌人发现，在酒榨里打麦子。这是一个令人绝望的情景，所以当天使一开始说：“耶和华与你同在……”时，他退缩是可以理解的。天使必须向基甸保证，神找对了人，也找对了地方。他也尽力让基甸知道，这个来自于神的信息是可靠的。

这个关于基甸在橡树下被呼召出来的愉快故事，使我们注意到，神有时会在普通的生活环境中接近我们。神有权柄呼召我们参与祂国度的工作，有时祂以令人惊讶的方式介入我们的生活。而且，在像基甸这样的情况下，只有当我们同意相信神的计划之后，我们才会得到所需的技能和资源。

It's quite natural to hear a message of news and then wonder whether or not the message is trustworthy. This is as true today as it has ever been, especially when communities and nations are under stress and are often hearing messages that contradict each other.

Gideon, who was approached by the angel of the Lord under an oak tree, was part of a community that was crying out to God and waiting for help. But most of the people were also unfaithful to God (Judges 6:1-10). Even so, God came to their rescue anyway.

Gideon's people needed to be delivered from neighboring enemies who were raiding and ruining their crops. Gideon was threshing grain in a winepress so that he wouldn't be seen by the enemy. It was a desperate situation, so it's understandable that he balked when the angel first said, "The LORD is with you…" The angel had to assure Gideon that God had the right person at the right address. And the angel worked with Gideon to show him that this message from God could be trusted.

This delightful story about Gideon being called out from under an oak tree draws our attention to the ways in which God sometimes approaches us in the ordinary circumstances of life. God has the authority to call us to participate in his kingdom work, and sometimes he interrupts us in surprising ways. And, in cases like Gideon's, only after we agree to trust in God's plan do we receive the skills and tools that are needed.