Judges 7: 2
“The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has delivered me.’”
Imagine yourself in Gideon’s position. One day you are a farm boy, the least of the least, and the next day you are called to free your nation from an army that has successfully oppressed your people for seven years. Once you finally wrap your head around that idea, and it took Gideon awhile to accept it, then God says, “Wait a minute, you have too many people with you.” Gideon began with 32,000 men. At that you can imagine he was plenty worried, but before he went against the Midianites God stopped him. God said Gideon had too many men with him to go against an army that was able to keep Israel enslaved for 7 years. How can you have too many men?
Before Yahweh let Gideon go up against the Midianites, He reduced Gideon’s army to 300 men. We don’t know how many men the Midianites had but the text says they were as numerous as locust. Why did God reduce Israel’s army to so few people to go up against so many?
Sometimes I think the only things worth doing are those which are impossible. That was certainly Gideon’s position. There is no way a group of 300 men can rout a full army. In fact, there were two armies for the Amalekites were with the Midianites. Yahweh knew that if Gideon went up against the two armies with 32,000, he might begin to think he prevailed by his own might rather than that of the Lord. That is a dangerous way to think.
Jesus said he could do nothing without his Father (John 5: 19). How much more true is this of us? There is, however, a larger idea here, I believe. This story makes me think that where we should desire to live is in water over our heads. We should live with impossibilities so that we require the power and presence of the Lord.
Father God wants us to rely on Him. Gideon could not win the battle against the Midianites and the Amalekites on his own. He had to have God on site, or he and his measly 300 men would have been obliterated. Father wants us to live out on the edge like that too! If you can do your project in your own strength and wisdom, then maybe it really isn’t the task for you. Delegate it to someone else and get a project that is bigger than you. If it scares you at night and makes you want to pray, then you are likely in the right spot. Father wants you in a situation where you must partner with Him. He wants to scare the problems away so that your energy is only needed for raking in the spoils.
Gideon is called a great and valiant warrior, but the truth is that he didn’t even have to unsheathe his sword. Our Father did all the work, yet Gideon ended up with a reputation as a brave warrior. That is God’s business plan. When we rely on Him, He promotes us. It is the craziest thing!
Look at your horizon. What do you have coming up? What is out there which is impossible? That is your goal. Find the impossible, ask Father if that is what He has in mind for you and then put the partnership into gear. If you aren’t in over your head, you’re cheating.
Do you know why God picked Gideon, a young boy instead of a seasoned fighter? I believe it is because Gideon’s only hope was in the Lord. A seasoned soldier may have tried to prevail in his might rather than the Lord’s. So, the moral of the story is, we don’t have to be too smart, too experienced, too clever or wise. We only need one skill. That is the ability to believe God and put that belief into action.
Oh, mighty and valiant warrior, go slay your dragon!
