Jessica Albritton, Family and Connections Minister LHBC
Judges 7:1-11
Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. 4 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, everyone who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water.7 And the Lord said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. 9 That same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp.
Have you ever witnessed a child attempting to jump into the deep end of a pool for the first time? There they are in their floaties, hovering at the edge of the water with their little knees knocking. In the pool is dad with his arms outstretched, calling out to the child, “Trust me! Jump, I’ll catch you!” The kid screeches with excited nervousness, eyes wide open and finally makes the plunge. Every time I have ever witnessed such a scene I hear the same phrase repeated from the father, “See, I told you I would catch you.” Sometimes I feel that way with the Lord. There He is, in the deep waters, calling my name to jump, to trust. And there I am on the edge of the pool shaking with nervousness.
In Judges chapter 7 we read the account of Gideon. The Midianites were encamped in their land so Gideon gathered 32,000 Israelite men to march into battle against them. Right before they set out however, the Lord comes to Gideon and informs him that he has too many soldiers. He assured Gideon victory however in order to see that victory Gideon would have to reduce his army. Gideon in faith sends 22,000 men home but the Lord comes again telling him he still has too many soldiers. Gideon is told that the Lord Himself would decide who was to fight in the battle and who was to be sent home. By the time the Lord was done sorting out the men there were only 300 left to fight. I don’t know about you but I would be hyperventilating in a corner if the Lord told me that I had to lead an army into battle against an enemy where we were outnumbered almost 450:1. But Gideon trusted the Lord and held fast to His promises. The Lord assured Gideon that the army would indeed conquer their enemy even though they were outnumbered. In verse 9 the Lord spoke to Gideon saying, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand.”
There was no way in the world that Gideon and his 300 men would have been able to defeat the Midianites on their own, and God knew that. In fact, in verse 2 The Lord spoke to Gideon saying, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’” God knew that if 32,000 Israelites marched into battle and conquered the Midianites it would be really easy for them to take the credit. But when 300 Israelites went to war, severely outnumbered, and won, there was no other explanation than God.
It can be difficult to trust in the Lord sometimes. His way of doing things often looks different than what we might plan, and quite frankly God’s plans don’t often make a whole lot of sense. This often leaves us swimming in the shallow end of the pool, all the while God is calling us to just trust Him and dive into the deep end. It is in the deep end, when we give up our control and rely fully on the Lord, that we see God move in unexplainable ways. In this life we will face situations that may be too big for us. In those times God may provide less than what we think we need but the awesome thing about the Lord is that He is more than enough! He is sufficient even when we are not. Will you trust Him enough to dive in?
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Heavenly Father, you are more than enough for me! Help me to trust you at your word. Lord, help me to remember that you are bigger than my situation and though your ways may look different than mine they are so much better! In Jesus name, amen!