“The people with you are too many for me…lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me’” (Judges 7:2).
“The people are still too many” (Judges 7:4).
God sees danger accurately. We often think we see it, but God sees it better. In Judges 7, Israel likely thought they saw their current danger well. The Midianite people were descending upon them. They were a threat. They were the danger. But God saw something else. He would deliver Israel, through Gideon. But there was a greater danger than Midian — the danger of pride, self-adulation. If Israel came to think they had delivered themselves, they would be in the gravest of spaces.
God saw the real danger — and He still sees the real danger. He knows how important it is for us to have a dependence upon Him. Leaning, ever leaning, upon Him is our best position. Kneeling, bowing, crying out — these are our best attitudes. We need the Lord, but it is good for us to know we need the Lord.
Do you know this? Like Gideon, do you sometimes need to be cut back to be just the right size for God to get the glory? Is there a tendency within you to take the credit? “Well, I did this,” we say. “This is how the victory was won…” We think our ingenious plans are what has given the victory. But this is cancerous. It is better to have a sense that God has won the battle for us.
Gideon was a hero to Israel. But God was the true hero, for Gideon’s army of 300 was infinitely too small for the 100+ thousand Midianites. This disparity in size meant God would get all the glory — all the credit.
Many have never experienced the joy of this type of victory. Everything in their lives is manufactured, safe. They only do that which they can see. They do not risk, believing God. When they see they are too small for the task at hand, they immediately feel the task at hand is too large. But this isn't true. God is able. God is strong. His heart longs to show us His power.
We ought not to be afraid.
