Trust God's strength—not your own.
| posted 1/30/2009
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Do you ever think that if God wanted to get anything big done, he'd choose someone with a lot more resources than yours? Single women sometimes feel they have half of what everyone else has: half the income, half the family, half the living space—and twice the responsibility of most women. So if God wants a big job done, he should give it to someone else. Right?
Wrong. Gideon's resources were so meager that when an angel appeared and said, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor," Gideon answered, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us?" (6:12, 13). In order to find Gideon, the angel had to go down into a pit—which is where Gideon was hiding while he threshed his small harvest of grain. Otherwise, the Midianite raiders would have stolen the grain from him.
After debating with God about his capabilities and resources, Gideon put together an army of 32,000 soldiers—except God wouldn't let him keep that many. God reduced their numbers to 300, then put the whole Midianite army on the run with hardly more deadly weapons than torches, trumpets, and God-inspired fear.
Sometimes God uses your lack of resources to reveal his strength—and to do very large jobs indeed. (See also Exodus 15:19-21; 2 Samuel 20:14-22; Malachi 3:16-18.)
Good Words to Remember:
Then the LORD turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?" Judges 6:14
Today's Challenge:
What could you be doing with your resources?
Copyright 2001 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian Bible Studies.
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