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Day 68 or March 9. Size doesn't matter.

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Our thoughts today are rooted in Judges chapter 7 verse 7. The Lord said to Gideon,

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With the three hundred men that lapped, I will save you and give the Midianites into

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your hands. Let all the others go home.

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Now the big picture surrounding this verse. One of the most famous Judges was Gideon.

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He is still remembered today through that well-respected international ministry called

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Gideons, who distribute Bibles in places like schools and hospitals and prisons. Their team

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is relatively small in number, just like the army of Gideon, which was only three hundred,

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but managed to defeat the larger army of the Midianites. Gideon was called by God and was

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at first very reticent to obey. He twice put out a fleece to test the call, before responding

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and being used in an amazing way by God. He was so successful that he was asked to be

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king, but insisted that God was the king, and would continue to rule over the Israelites.

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And now our action step for today. After gathering a vast army of thirty-two

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thousand, Gideon was told by God to send home all who were afraid. Only ten thousand remained,

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but Gideon was confident that they would be enough to win victory. Imagine how he felt

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when it was reduced to only three hundred, after seeing them all drink water from the

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spring of Harod. Logistically, surely it's better to have a large army rather than a

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small one, isn't it? The key is found in chapter 7 verse 2. The Lord said to Gideon,

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You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites

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will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength. Too many well-meaning

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Christians actually believe that they can do the work of God without God's help. Whenever

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you feel inadequate, remember to rely on the Lord, who actually doesn't need our help

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to win, but prefers to work with us whenever possible. We are only essential to God's

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work because he chooses to make us so. We all need to recognize this.