TOO MUCH STRENGTH – 08-13-2021

TOO MUCH STRENGTH
August 13, 2021

Prayer: Lord, although we prepare for victory in battle, may You receive the glory, honor, and praise. Show us who needs Your salvation and who is ready to surrender to Jesus today.  Thank You. Amen.

Scripture: But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there.” Judges 7:4

Becky and I had talked since she left my school system for another in a neighboring suburb. Things in her new school seemed so ideal. She reported that she had practically no discipline problems. When she wanted a piece of expensive percussion equipment, the principal went to the administration for her, and they thought nothing of spending thousands of dollars on her program. It was enough to make a person jealous! Why, discipline problems were the “stuff of life” here, and money was tight all around, so much so that we wondered from year to year if we would be able to keep a music program.

Why does God often call Christians to difficult places? I imagine He has a myriad of reasons, but for one thing, He wants to show His power in the face of incredible odds. Some of us need His reminder daily that we need Him or we won’t make it through. Like He did to Gideon, God sometimes decreases the things that we lean on so that we will instead lean on Him alone. He had already taken down the size of Gideon’s army from 32,000 to 10,000. But God planned to take the army to an even smaller size, leaving Gideon with only 300 men! But, God said, “With the 300 men…I will save you.”

If you despair because you can’t possibly succeed in the place in which you teach, remember Gideon. Later in the story, we read that these 300 men pursued the enemy kings and captured them, routing their entire army. God had a plan to show Himself able in the face of impossibilities. Trust Him that in your situation, though it may be far from ideal, He will show you His wonderful ability to step in on your behalf.

Copyright Shirley Wilson.  Email [email protected]