At its core, the story of Gideon told in Judges 7:1-8:35 is about how God calls people who are not ready in the world’s view, but who are willing to follow in faith.
Gideon was a farmer. In his own words he states, “My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” (Judges 6:15).
God knows Gideon’s heart and earlier said to Gideon, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” (Judges 6:120. It is so enlightening to see the contrast to how Gideon sees himself and how God sees him. I wonder the number of times I think of myself in a negative way or inferior to a task and so miss the calling of God. The discussion and story of Gideon should truly make us all wonder how God wants to use us to fulfill His will and makes us wonder less about whether we are capable.
In addition to Gideon feeling inferior to the task, he initially pulls together a reasonably sized army of 32,000 men to fight against a known stronger enemy that has ruled the Israelites for seven years. Given he thought of himself as the least in his family, I can only imagine he was proud of being able to get 32,000 men to join the fight!
However, God had a different plan, and commanded Gideon to decrease his army until he finally settles on only 300 men. What an amazing sign of faith that Gideon continued to move forward to follow God’s plan with such a small army. It is clear that Gideon and his men completely relied on their trust in God and His strength instead of their own.
How does this relate to our walk with God? Are we focusing on amassing too large of an “army” to conquer a task that God is calling us to instead of listening and allowing God’s strength to lead? Or, are we passing on something because we are clearly not as strong or well-spoken (or fill in the blank) as another in our congregation?
Gideon should remind us all that, “God does not call the equipped, He equips the called!”. So, join me in listening for God’s call instead of just spending time working to be equipped.