Redeemed Failures, Day 22: Barak – When Fear Delays Obedience
Barak’s story in Judges 4–5 shows how God works through hesitant faith, reminding us that His strength secures victory even when our obedience falters.
Israel groaned under the oppression of Jabin king of Canaan and his general, Sisera. God raised up Deborah, a prophetess and judge, who summoned Barak with a clear command: "Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, 'Go, gather your men…and I will give Sisera into your hand'?" (Judg. 4:6–7).
The word was unmistakable. God Himself had promised victory. Yet Barak hesitated: "If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go" (v. 8). This wasn't outright rebellion. It was fear wearing the mask of conditional obedience. He was willing to go, but only if Deborah came along.
God's Strength, Not Ours
Deborah agreed to accompany him, but she delivered a sobering warning: the glory of victory would not be his. The Lord would deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman (v. 9). Her prophecy proved true. Barak fought bravely and routed Sisera's army, pursuing the enemy with newfound strength. But the final blow came not from his sword. Jael, a woman who drove a tent peg through Sisera's temple, struck the decisive blow (vv. 21–22).
Barak's timidity cost him the honor of the story, yet it could not thwart God's faithfulness. The Lord delivered Israel exactly as He had promised. The song of Deborah and Barak in Judges 5 celebrates this victory, reminding us that salvation belongs to the Lord rather than to the flawed instruments He chooses to use.
Faith Remembered
Something remarkable happens in the New Testament. Hebrews 11 includes Barak in the "hall of faith": "And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah…" (Heb. 11:32). Why would God honor a man who hesitated at the critical moment? Because faith, however tentative, remains faith when it clings to God's word. Barak may have faltered initially, but he didn't turn back. He obeyed, fought, and discovered that the Lord remains faithful even when His servants prove frail.
An Encouragement
Barak's story speaks to every believer who has ever hesitated or stepped forward with trembling legs. God doesn't wait for perfect courage before He uses us. He works through faltering faith to display His own strength. The glory belongs to Him alone.
Perhaps you feel paralyzed by fear or ashamed of hesitant obedience. Remember Barak. The Lord doesn't despise the small step of faith. He honors those who lean on Him, however unsteadily they may do so. Victory comes through His power, not ours.
Enjoy all 31 devotionals in the Redeemed Failures series here —stories of grace, second chances, and the God who still restores.