Gideons 3

Judges 7:1-3

The Gideons not only put Bibles in hotels, they strive to put a copy of the Bible, or at least the New Testament, in the hands of people all around the world. The Gideons can take your small donation and use it to pay for the printing of many Bibles which are then handed out free. Their dedication and work in reaching the whole world with the good news of Jesus is incredible.

As the story of Gideon in the Bible progresses we see Gideon amassing an army of 32,000 men to fight the Midianites. What does God declare? Why does He decide this? What does Gideon do?

One of the basic rules of military strategy is “Never underestimate your enemy.” It is wise not to go against an opponent with complete confidence that you will win. A little fear can be a good thing. It is best to be prepared for any eventuality.

With that in mind, what Gideon does seems completely counter-productive. Why in the world would a military commander send two-thirds of his fighting force home?

God claimed that the army was too big. Victory, apparently, would be too easy and then the Israelites might begin to think that hey won the battle on their own. To guarantee that they knew God had given them the battle God had Gideon send most of his army home.

When we look at ministry and outreach we can think that what we are putting into the effort is what makes it work. We can also have the opposite attitude, that no matter what we do we can’t accomplish anything. We may ask how our contribution of few dollars can make a difference.

We need to be like Gideon. We need to trust that our small donation can be used by God to make a huge difference in the world. We need to remember that it is not us who gets the ministry work done; it is the power of God working through us.

DAILY CHALLENGE: Where do you need to trust the power of God in your life?