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)
