Not Inadequate

The book of Judges is a frustratingly insane part of the Bible (if insane is defined as doing the same thing over and over while expecting to get new results).  The Israelites were in their new land and had defeated most of their enemies (part of their problems came from marrying many of these pagan people and being drawn to their gods) after Joshua, and their question became whether to listen to God and obey Him or listen to their own sinful desires.  This created a cycle of being oppressed by a foreign people, crying out to God for help, God sending a judge (leader to deliver the people), enjoying a time of peace and prosperity, and falling back into sinful behaviors.

Gideon was one of the judges.  He was not the big, strong Samson who overpowered the Philistines.  Instead, he was quite the opposite, being a member of the weakest family in the weakest clan in one of the weakest tribes of Israel (Manassah was only a half tribe, not even a full tribe!)

Judges 6:1 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years God gave them into the hands of the Midianites.

This the the recurring theme, and once again we find the children of Israel wandering away from the God who had saved them before. God's power is made perfect in a person's weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), for God wanted everyone to know it was He doing the work, not Gideon.  Gideon did not even trust that God was going to help him, at first, and required two different miracles with a sheep skin to prove to himself that God was really going to do this.

We have 20/20 hindsight of the book of Judges, seeing that if they just would have listened to God they could have avoided a lot of pain and suffering.  God did promise grace, that even when things were bad and the Israelites looked like they were out of luck, God would come through and work in their lives again.

Deuteronomy 30:2-3 and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. 

God does not use guilt, but the devil will.  God does not want you to be bogged down by your past sins - Jesus already paid full price for you!  Spend some time with God listening to to His voice and what He wants to say to you, for God wants to use you, despite any weaknesses or inadequacies you feel about yourself.