“The Lord said to Gideon, ‘The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, “My own hand has saved me.” ‘ So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. That same night the Lord said to him, ‘Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand.’ And [Gideon] divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, ‘A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!’ …and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. When they blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army.” (v2,8-9,16,20-22a)
The Lord delivers an army as numerous as locusts into the hands of Israel – but not all of Israel, for they were too great. The Lord commands Gideon to dismiss troops (31,800) until only 300 men remain, so that God alone would receive the credit for the victory, and no person could boast in Israel’s self-deliverance.
How often do we stop and think that God intentionally allows us to be weak? We realize that we are weak, yet we constantly try to become stronger. I’m not just talking physical strength, I mean emotionally and spiritually as well. From a biblical perspective, God wants us to be weak, so that we will remain dependent on Him.
“But he answered, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ‘ ” (Mt 4:4) “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:4-5)
It’s pretty clear we are not designed by God to operate independently from Him. He has created us to be reliant upon Him, which is why so many people who don’t depend on Him, end up in crisis – they’s can’t make it through life on their own. Yet it is in times of crisis, when people are at the end of themselves, where God is strongest (because we invite Him to show strength, not because He wasn’t capable of showing strength).
God will only help those who are willing to receive His help, since He respects our free will choices. Back to the earlier point, God wants us to be weak, because then we seek His help: “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.” (Isa 40:29) “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12:10)
I encourage us today to worship God for His wisdom in allowing this pandemic to happen. (Side note: I’m not suggesting that the thousands of deaths are a good thing, because death is a consequence of sin and can never be called good) What I am suggesting is that the entire world is the weakest it has been in recent history. No person or nation has the power to stop this pandemic, and nobody can boast in their ability to deliver us (just as God did not want Israel boasting in self-deliverance).
I suggest our prayers should include requests for hearts to be softened toward God in this period of world-wide weakness. We can pray that people would come to realize just how much we need a Savior, and how fragile/weak we humans are without God. A single virus has the potential to wipe out not only life, but our culture and economy as well – that’s how fragile we humans are. We are in desperate need of God, and my prayer is that more people realize that truth, because these circumstances are opening that door.
Father God, our great and wise King, holy, holy, holy is Your name. Father You alone are all-knowing and all-powerful, You alone are worthy of our praise and worship. In the midst of global weakness and strife, we recognize that You have allowed this pandemic for a reason. Father we plead with You to please be our Savior and Deliverer, but not before people come to realize their desperate need for You. Father we are so weak and fragile, and we cannot deliver ourselves from consequences of sin. Only You Jesus, could deliver us from the eternal consequences of sin, thank you for Your loving sacrifice. Father please soften the hearts of every person in the world, especially our world leaders, and please guide them gently to You. Father we fully entrust You with control over this global situation, and we pray for the deliverance of many souls into Your eternal care. In the holy name of Jesus Christ, our Living Hope, we plead for Your glory and kingdom to come in the hearts of all people. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training