Joel M Bradshaw

4But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

5So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” 6Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

7The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.”—Judges 7

Every kid who grew up going to Sunday school remembers this story. It’s the first thing you probably picture if somebody mentions Gideon. Focus on why God did what He did, not how He did it!

It’s about the why. Gideon had just come through the two fleece incidents with flying colors and no doubt felt very self-confident and ready to go. His sense of security was riding high. God was patient through Gideon’s doubt and through the fleece testings, but He now countered by putting Gideon in an even more vulnerable position with these troop reductions.

Neither Gideon nor Israel could possibly receive the glory from the upcoming victory…only Yahweh could.

This sums up much of the Christian life. God puts you in situations and brings you through them in a manner that gives himself glory. So many of us are focused on our legacies and our resumes. We should instead focus in our impossible situations on God.

A great prayer would sound like this, “God, this situation is impossible. I pray you provide in such a way that everyone will see that you came through when only you had the power to come through. use this situation to teach me to not base my confidence in life on myself over you. Help me to trust you and depend upon you.”

If Gideon marched down there with tens of thousands of men, they would all be singing his praises and leadership skills. But 300? A victory would require a miracle. Only God could get the glory from that. God brought Gideon to the point where he was either going to trust God or reject him. When it comes to your situation and the sovereign plan of God, don’t always get caught up in the how. Focus on the why.–JMB