A Word from Judges 7

Can you imagine the following scenario? You’ve got a big deadline coming up at work; so you say to yourself, “I’ve got too much time.” Or you’re facing a big repair at home; but you find yourself thinking, “I’ve got too much money.” Or maybe you’re battling a scary disease, but you realize that you’ve got endless supply of peace.

Sound unlikely? I’d imagine so! After all, when faced with big challenges, I think we often evaluate our resources and feel fear about everything we lack. But in today’s word from Judges Chapter 7, we get a little reminder that what we bring to our battles isn’t necessarily the most important thing.

Gideon and all the soldiers of Israel were getting ready to do battle with the far superior army of Midian. And because Gideon was anxious by nature, you can only imagine that he was terrified. And yet, 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.” (7:2) And so, God decreed a “force reduction,” that whittled down Gideon’s army from more than 30,000 to just 300. And yet, with only that, God gave Gideon the victory.

Now clearly, there’s a lesson in that for us. But the lesson is not that it doesn’t matter what resources we have, because God’s going to give us the victory anyway. After all, the Bible also tells us to “count the cost.” (See Luke 14:25-33) But when take stock of our resources, we should remember that we’ve got a God on our side who loves us, who’s with us, and who wants us to rely on Him and not just ourselves.

In another word for today from Acts Chapter 3, Peter says to a beggar who’s lame, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus the Nazarene, get up and walk!” (Acts 3:6) May you recognize that you have Jesus today! And may having him give you everything you need. Amen.