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Gideon lived during a time when Israel was ruled by judges. This was the period after the death of Joshua and before Saul was anointed king. During this time, the people continually wandered away from God and were oppressed by various groups. But God always rose up a leader (a judge) who would deliver the people and lead them back to Himself - at least for a short while.

The oppression by the Midianites was so severe that many people of Israel lived in caves and had to harvest their crops in secret. When the people cried out to God for help, He chose to use Gideon. "'But Lord,' Gideon asked, 'how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family'" (Judges 6:15). God wanted His Children to know that true deliverance is only through His strength and by His grace. By using Gideon to save the people, God was able to teach a lesson of trust.

Judges 7:2-3
"The Lord said to Gideon, 'You have too many men for Me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against Me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, "Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead."' So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained."

God wanted His lesson to be absolutely clear. His grace and power would not be obvious if the army had hope of victory by their own strength. "There are still too many men" (Judges 7:4). Gideon was not sent into battle - a battle which was completely victorious - until the army contained only 300 men. These were impossible odds. But God reigns supreme in the impossible.'

This is a hard lesson, but God is never interested in the "wonderful" things we can do for Him. He is pleased only by our obedience and our trust. We are never to rest in our own strength, rather, we are to continually step out and rely on God. Several hundred years after Gideon, the prophet Isaiah gave this same message: "Woe to those who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 31:1).

God will lead us into victory - a victory of peace and contentment - a victory of walking according to His perfect will. But we must give Him our total trust. In His victory, we will have the joy of witnessing His mighty hand; we will find fulfillment in bringing Him glory and honor. His victory is never by our strength, savvy, cunning, or intelligence. It is only as we trust Him to work in and through the empty vessel of our life. True victory will only be won as we go into battle without too much of us.

Copyright 2001, Steve Troxel. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.

About Steve Troxel: Steve Troxel is the President of God's Daily Word Ministries. Steve was trained as an Electrical Engineer and received his PhD in 1994. After working as a researcher in a laser laboratory for several years, Steve felt the call from God to leave his trained profession and enter into full-time ministry. His devotionals are now sent around the world via email as well as distributed in book format. More information about this ministry as will as a "sign-up" page can be found at: http://www.godsdailyword.org

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