Obedience Is Power

The Lord told Gideon, "With these 300 men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites.  Send all the others home.

Judges 7:7

Gideon started with 32,000 men in his army.  God went to Gideon and said that if all those men fight the Israelites would boast that they won the fight in their own strength and so God removed 22,000, men dropping the number of warriors to 10,000.  God was still not satisfied and so He told Gideon to take his soldiers to the river and divide them up, those who drank water with their hands could stay and others were to be sent home.  This dropped the total number of warriors to 300 and so God was satisfied.  I can't imagine the feeling in Gideon knowing that he was now being told to fight a large aremy of midianites with only 300 people.  I'm sure he was utterly confused and fearful, maybe even in shock wondering how on earth he would ever make it out of this battle alive.  But God had bigger plans and He was taking over!  As we continue reading, the way in which Gideon's men won this battle sounds absolutly crazy, especially to someone who doesn't understand the power of God.  His men did not even lift a sword to an enemy.  They surrounded the midianite camp, blew their rams' horns from their right hand, and holding their torches in the left, chanting, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon".  And that was all it took for 300 men to destroy an army that just it's camels alone were like grains of sand on the seashore.  

Each man stood at his position around the camp and watched as all the Midianites rushed around in a panic, shouting as they ran to escape.  When the 300 Israelites blew their rams' horns, the Lord caused the warriors in the camp to fight against each other with their swords.  Those who were not killed fled to places far away as Beth-shittah near Zererah and to the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.

Judges 7:21-22

This is just another one of God's promises to us!  Just like He helped Gideon, He is here to help us too!  We don't always have to have the best resources or the most people on our side.  God's power to help us comes from one thing only, obedience.  In Gideon's story not one man had to draw a sword to gain victory over a huge army!  That does not happen unless God is in charge.  Gideon's army of 300 could have never done that in it's own strength.  God demonstrated to all of Israel, and to all who would read this story someday, that victory depends on obedience not strength or numbers or the best resources.  Trusting God enough to obey what he tells us, even in the most desperate times, will always bring us victory.  God is to be trusted!  When we are facing illness, joblessness, barrenness, or loneliness, God's plan will always raise us up in the end.  Because He loves us!  Because He wants His children to succeed and flourish for this life and eternity!  God is good!