There are too many of you

I love the Old Testament story of Gideon. You can read his story in Judges 6 - 7. 

I love that Gideon is this insecure, unqualified, oppressed, reject that God uses to deliver his people. God has this thing for using those nobody else would use.

I love the counter-cultural way God uses Gideon to defeat the Midianites. Gideon starts off with an army of 22,000 men. God tells him there are too many men, so he should let all those who are afraid go home. 12,000 leave. God then says there are still too many men and devises the infamous water-lapping test to whittle the army down to a whopping 300 men. And with 300 men, God defeats the mighty Midianite army.

We live in a culture that tells us bigger is better. Sometimes it is.

But the story of Gideon teaches us that sometimes smaller is better too. This is highly counter-cultural in our day. 

God used a puny army of 300 to defeat one of the greatest armies in the world. He did it so that neither the Israelites nor Gideon would receive glory. 

He did it so that God and God alone would receive glory.

Gideon's story is an encouragement to me today. May it encourage you, and my we all live lives for God's glory and not our own.