Judges 6, Gideon is in hiding. He is at the wine press threshing wheat because he is afraid of the Midianites who have been wreaking havoc amongst the Israelites destroying their harvest and causing the men of Israel to hide in caves. Their oppression was like a locust invasion and it seemed like there was nothing that Israel could do.
The angel of the Lord appears to Gideon and calls him a mighty warrior. The problem is Gideon does not see himself that way. He is more of a mighty worrier than a mighty warrior. In his eyes, he comes from the weakest clan and he is the least in his family. The angel tells Gideon to go in the strength that he already has to save Israel.
It is easy to look on the outside and give excuses because then, the blame is on someone else and not you. Sometimes the solutions we need are right beneath our noses if we will only look at ourselves from God’s perspective and believe what God says about us. The angel did not anoint Gideon or give him any special abilities. Gideon had what he needed all along, he simply needed to change his way of thinking, and act in faith to God leading.
What have you believed about yourself that has you hiding and complaining yet the solution to your predicament is lying dormant inside of you? Whom have you been blaming for the current situation you find yourself in?
For a man who was in hiding and in fear to arise and gather to himself a group of 32,000 men ready to fight, this is something worth lots of commendation right? But when you imagine them going after an army of 135,000 experienced warriors it gives you another perspective. Maybe they stood a chance, maybe God would work out something.
God did work out something but not in the manner you and I would think of. He tells Gideon to reduce his men by asking those who are afraid to go back home. 22,000 go back home leaving only 10,000 men.
Imagine you are among the 10,000 that remained and here you see a mass of 22,000 leaving to go back home. Would you even have the courage to move on?
God, are you nuts? How can 10,000 men go up against an experienced army of 135,000 warriors? Is God setting them up to fail or to succeed?
God speaks yet again and he says, “Oh, by the way, you still have too many men, I will reduce them further for you!”
By the time God is done, Gideon is left with 300 men, about 1% of what he had started with, and with that 1% of seemingly inexperienced men, God is able to deliver Israel from the oppressive Midianites.
God rarely works with the majority because if He does that, then we have a tendency to trust in ourselves and our resources rather than our God.
Is God telling you to reduce your resources to a meager 1%? Do not panic and do not be afraid, walk-inn obedience because God’s one percent can take out an entire army and you won’t even have to fight, let alone carry a sword.
