By David Faust

Reducing the size of your army is a strange way to prepare for a fight.

After being visited by an angel and then stepping up to lead the Israelites (Judges 6), General Gideon must have been pleased with the 32,000 soldiers at his disposal to fight the overwhelming Midianite army. But God saw things differently. The Lord said, “You have too many men” (Judges 7:2).

Soldiers prefer to outnumber their enemies, but God didn’t want Gideon’s troops to claim, “My own strength has saved me.” So the Lord reduced the militia by more than 99 percent—from 32,000 down to 300. Armed with a strange assortment of trumpets, jars, and torches, that night those 300 men won an unorthodox but impressive victory.

What can we learn from Gideon?

God deserves the credit.

I have some beautiful roses in my yard, but mostly I just stick the plants in the ground and God makes them grow. If you graduate from high school or college, be proud of your accomplishments, but don’t think you did it by your strength alone. Be happy if you find success in your career, but don’t forget to thank the Lord. At the end of our lives we can never say, “My own strength has saved me.” God’s grace makes the difference.

God can turn timid nobodies into mighty warriors.

My preacher friend Howard Brammer calls this “when God does the Gideon.” God takes a nobody and makes him a somebody. He takes something small and does something big. Gideon was a frightened farmer hiding in a winepress, but God saw a leader and a warrior in him.

God uses impressive math.

With the Lord as their partner, 300 men became a mighty army. In the hands of Jesus five loaves and two fish can feed a multitude, and 12 disciples are enough to start a world-changing movement.

God’s purpose matters more than numbers.

Having 32,000 soldiers isn’t a bad thing, but numbers alone won’t win our battles. It can be inspiring to worship with a large crowd, but God also works through small groups, small churches, and one-on-one relationships. What you can count isn’t all that counts.

God’s power matters more than our own strength.

Victory for the church comes not merely from the giftedness of our leaders, our financial prosperity, our beautiful facilities, or the size of our parking lots. Tools like those are useful, but God’s empowerment is the key.

God’s team is bigger than we realize.

If we think of ourselves as part of the 300 who stuck around for the battle, there’s a danger that we might grow prideful and say, “Those other guys are cowards, but we’re the faithful few.” However, after Israel’s 300 soldiers routed the Midianites in the middle of the night, the battle took a positive turn and many others came to join in the battle. “Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites” (7:23). We tend to focus on our own little piece of God’s kingdom, but the Lord has workers eager to serve him in other nations, cities, and congregations as well. Our brothers and sisters are not the enemy. They are part of God’s team too. It’s tempting to fight our battles by saying, “I could win if I had more.” Gideon’s story reminds us to say, “I need less of this and more of God.”

David Faust serves as the Associate Minister at East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Based on International Sunday School Lesson, © 2013, by the Lesson Committee. Scripture quotations are from the New International Version ©2011, unless otherwise indicated.

As you apply today’s Scripture study to everyday life, read Engage Your Faith by David Faust and the correlating Evaluation Questions.