READING: Judges 7:1-9:21, Luke 11:14-54
Let’s begin this devotion in an unusual way—with a math problem. Consider this mathematical equation: 32,000 – x = 300, and determine the value of x. Work through the equation, and you’ll come to this solution: 32,000 – 31,700 = 300.
You likely know where I’m going with this devotion. Gideon was ready to take on the Midianites with his full force of 32,000 warriors, but God would not allow them to go to battle. Not yet anyway. Not with that many warriors. And, not according to their own plans.
Step by step, God reduced the military numbers to 10,000 and then all the way down to 300. Almost 99 percent of the warriors were no longer in the battle when God eventually sent His forces against the Midianites. With only 300 warriors left in the Israelite army, they were ready to take on the enemy – and God alone would get the glory if the comparatively tiny force experienced victory (which, of course, they did by following God’s seemingly strange battle plan).
The point is this: our problem in living out our faith is not always that we’re too weak; rather, it’s that we’re too strong. We grow to trust our own strength and fail to give God the glory when victory is ours; we fight in our own ability and claim the praise when we win. Today, I can only wonder how many times God has brought me to brokenness so I might lean on Him more than on myself. He reduces us so we trust only the One who is our warrior.
PRAYER: “God, weaken me however You wish so You alone get the praise for any victory I experience.”
DAILY ACTION STEP: Don’t fight against God if He chooses to break you in some way today.
TOMORROW’S READING: Weekend is for catch-up and review
MONDAY’S READING: Judges 9:22-11:40, Luke 12:1-21
