Text: Judges 7:1-6
Memory text:
āBut God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;ā
āāI Corinthiansā¬ ā1ā¬:ā27ā¬ āNKJVā¬ā¬
Our increased strength and resources tend to make us more self-dependent. This is contrary to Godās principle. He shows His strength in our weakness (1 Sam 2:9).
Our strength makes us depend less on God. It causes us to become proud and to take credit for our achievements. Itās hard, but not impossible, to truly rely on God when we have all that we need. That is why Jesus said, āā¦how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!ā (Mark 10:24). Our increase can hinder the work of God if we rely on them.
God told Gideon, āYou 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.ā (āāJudgā¬ ā7ā¬:ā2ā¬ āNLTā¬ā¬). The 32,000 men could think they triumphed over the 135,000 Midianites through their own bravery or strategy. Even though they were already out of proportion in number to the Midianite army, God wanted the odds so bad that the victory would clearly be His alone. He wanted them to have no reason whatsoever to attribute credit to themselves. Thus, only 10,000 men who had faith were selected.
After downsizing, God saw that this 10,000 men could still steal His glory for their success. Gideon could have thought, āIf the 10,000 army of Barak defeated the unnumbered army of Sisera, then we have enough also to defeat the Midianitesā. (Judg 4:6). God always shows up when we get to our wits end; when we are at the place of utter desperation; when we are left with no other help but His (2 Kings 6:27; Psa 62:12; Psa 123: 2).
God used another criterion to trim down 10,000 men to 300, becoming one percent of the original size! How could 300 men face 135,000 soldiers except to completely rely on God?
God keeps us from the danger of tampering with His glory by withholding some things from us. If God had said yes to all our prayers, so many of us would have been destroyed by now. When Paul was in danger of becoming proud, God brought a weakness into his life. He wanted him to keep relying on His strength so he could be stronger (2 Cor 12:7-10).
Friends, until we get to the point of desperation in weakness, where we canāt take credit for our success, God wonāt show up for us. You canāt be too small for God to use, but you can be too big. God doesnāt just want to give victory, but He wants to teach us to trust in Him. Victory that makes us self-reliant is dangerous and ultimately more disastrous than defeat.
Prayer points
1. Father, please, keep me humble and let my victories make me trust You more and not to be self-reliant, in Jesusā name.
2. Father, remove from me everything that can make me to be too big for Your use, in Jesusā name.
Todayās declarations
1. I am conscious as I make progress in life not to grow in self-reliance but to grow in God-reliance.
2. God shows up for me when I get to the place of utter desperationĀ inĀ weakness.
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