Military
commanders always want to have enough troops to accomplish their mission. Most
would prefer having too many not too few, but not everyone agrees on just how
many troops will be enough.
When
Gideon recruited an army of 32,000 men to stand against those who oppressed the
Israelites, the Lord told him, “The people who are with you are too many for Me
to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself
against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me’” (Judg. 7:2).
So the
Lord began to reduce Gideon’s army. When the fearful were allowed to leave,
22,000 men went home (v.3). A second reduction cut the force from the remaining
10,000 to 300 troops, of whom the Lord said, “By the three hundred . . . I will
save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand” (v.7). And so it happened (vv.19-23).
In our
life of faith, our resources can become the enemy of trust. God wants us to
depend on Him, not our own strength, whether physical, financial, or
intellectual.
When the
Lord reduces our resources from “32,000 to 300,” it is not punishment. It is
preparation for Him to be glorified through our lives as we acknowledge and
trust His power.
When God
gives us an impossible task— it becomes possible. (RBC)
