The Bible has some of the greatest stories ever told. The great part is that
all of these stories are true. They are records of what really happened. These
are records of what is possible when God is involved and directing our paths.
Today we will examine the record of a man named Gideon. At this time in
history, the kingdom of Midian was greatly oppressing God’s people, so Israel cried to
God for help. God’s answer was Gideon. Gideon took some convincing by God
that he was the right man for the job.
But he finally became convinced that with God’s help, he would be
victorious. Gideon then assembled an army of 32,000 to go to battle against an
army of 135,000. This is a ratio of 1 to 4. These are shaky odds for any
military commander. The enemy looked huge! But God had other plans. In God’s
opinion, Gideon’s army was too big. That’s right. Gideon the man for the job –
his little army had too many men in it. God told Gideon to tell his army that
if any were afraid to fight, to go home. 22,000 departed. Now Gideon has an
army of 10,000 to go up against 135,000. This is now a ratio of 1 to 13. But God thinks his army is still too big. So
God tells Gideon to take his army down to the river where he will test them
there. Gideon’s army is then reduced to just 300 men.
300 against an army of 135,000 is a
ration of 1 to 450. There is not a military leader on earth that would go to
battle with these odds. There is only one way they could win now. That is if
God performs a miracle. And what was God’s strategy? Pitchers, torches and
trumpets. (What?!!) These are not
weapons of war.
The 300 men are then divided into
three companies and surround the massive sleeping army of the Midianites. The
plan was for the men to put lit torches into pitchers and at a certain signal,
they would break the pitchers, blow trumpets and all shout “The
sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” (What
kind of crazy plan is this?) This tactic worked because when the Midianites
woke up with a start they turned upon each other and started killing each
other. 15,000 men who are left flee for their lives, with the Israelite army in
hot pursuit. Can you imagine 15,000 being chased by 300 men?
A great victory was won that day by
Gideon and his 300 men by following God’s instructions. But what can we learn
from a story that occurred thousands of years ago? To God, odds do not matter. Whether
you’re facing financial situations, facing a dire medical condition or an
impossible problem at work or in your family, God is the answer. He is the
problem solver. He is the heart mender. He has a plan for your success. As
Jesus said, “With God all things are
possible.” (Matthew 19:26) With God victory is assured because you and God
always make a majority. With God you can beat the odds.
Love
Always, Ray
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