Day 68, or March the 9th. Size doesn't matter.
Our thoughts today are rooted in Judges chapter
7, verse 7. The Lord said to Gideon, With the
three hundred men that lapped, I will save you
and give the Midianites into your hands. Let
all the others go home. Now the big picture surrounding
this verse. One of the most famous judges was
Gideon. He is still remembered today through
that well -respected international ministry called
Gideons, who distribute Bibles in places like
schools and hospitals and prisons. Their team
is relatively small in number, just like the
army of Gideon, which was only 300, but managed
to defeat the larger army of the Midianites.
Gideon was called by God and was at first very
reticent to obey. He twice put out a fleece to
test the call before responding and being used
in an amazing way by God. He was so successful
that he was asked to be king, but insisted that
God was the king and would continue to rule over
the Israelites. And now our action step for today.
After gathering a vast army of 32 ,000, Gideon
was told by God to send home all who were afraid.
Only 10 ,000 remained, but Gideon was confident
that there would be enough to win victory. Imagine
how he felt when it was reduced to only 300 after
seeing them all drink water from the spring of
Harod. Logistically, surely it's better to have
a large army rather than a small one, isn't it?
The key is found in chapter 7, verse 2. The Lord
said to Gideon, You have too many warriors with
you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites,
the Israelites will boast to me that they saved
themselves by their own strength. Too many well
-meaning Christians actually believe that they
can do the work of God without God's help. Whenever
you feel inadequate, remember to rely on the
Lord, who actually doesn't need our help to win,
but prefers to work with us whenever possible.
We are only essential to God's work because He
chooses to make us so. We all need to recognize
this.