Judg 6:11-12
Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!”
NKJV

Because of our life experiences we often view ourselves and even God in ways that are not true. Gideon was an Israelite who had a history of experiencing Midianites who invaded and stole his food. As a result, he is threshing the wheat in the winepress, out of site of the Midianites. This was certainly not a man who was confident of the presence of the Living God in his life. He certainly didn’t see himself as a man of courage and strength. Rather, because of his experiences, he viewed God as being distant and himself as a coward.

If we had an opportunity in that moment to inquire as to why he believed this about God and himself, I’m sure he would have told of the story of his life experiences. This is not simply what he believes; this is the only reality he has ever known. Each of his past experiences serves as evidence that his core beliefs are correct.

The only way out of this dilemma is revelation. Through an angel God reveals two things to Gideon. First, he reveals the truth to Gideon about God. “The LORD is with you…” Then he reveals something to Gideon about Gideon. “…you mighty man of valor!” As a result of this revelation, Gideon becomes the man through whom the Midianites are defeated. When Gideon discovered who God was in his life and who Gideon was in God, he was freed to become the man he was destined to be. When his perspective concerning God and himself aligned with God’s perspective, freedom was the result. A supernatural revelation made available to Gideon a whole new way of viewing both God and himself.
When we enter God’s Kingdom, we begin to hear him. He reveals truth to us in a great variety of supernatural ways. The result of this revelation is that we discover who God is and who we really are. We experience what is true about God’s goodness, nearness, and power and experience what is true about how God sees us. This ongoing experience of revelation is the real process of freedom in our lives. Freedom results not first from ridding ourselves of behaviors and addictions which are destructive. Freedom results not first from removing whatever level of demonic interference is present in our lives. Freedom comes from discovery. We experientially, via revelation, discover the truth about God and about ourselves in a way that transforms our core beliefs. Jesus says that when this happens, freedom will be the result.