Smaller is Better!

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Early the next morning, Gideon and his army got up and moved their camp to Fear Spring.  The Midianite camp was to the north, in the valley at the foot of Moreh Hill.  The Lord said, “Gideon, your army is too big. I can’t let you win with this many soldiers. The Israelites would think that they had won the battle all by themselves and that I didn’t have anything to do with it.

So call your troops together and tell them that anyone who is really afraid can leave Mount Gilead and go home.” Twenty-two thousand men returned home, leaving Gideon with only ten thousand soldiers.

“Gideon,” the Lord said, “you still have too many soldiers. Take them down to the spring and I’ll test them. I’ll tell you which ones can go along with you and which ones must go back home.”

When Gideon led his army down to the spring, the Lord told him, “Watch how each man gets a drink of water. Then divide them into two groups—those who lap the water like a dog and those who kneel down to drink.”

Three hundred men scooped up water in their hands and lapped it, and the rest knelt to get a drink.

The Lord said, “Gideon, your army will be made up of everyone who lapped the water from their hands. Send the others home. I’m going to rescue Israel by helping you and your army of three hundred defeat the Midianites.”

Judges 7:1-7

Did you ever hear of a group of Church elders who believed God was leading them to evangelize their city say, "We have too much money and too many people for this task. We must first get rid of some of our people and give away some of our money so that God will get the glory instead of our Church?"

When you go to battle for the Lord, make sure that you don't have enough strength to win without God. If you have enough human strength to win then you will be tempted to take the glory for yourself instead of giving it to God.

Lord, give me the courage to take on armies too large for me to defeat, tasks too big for me to accomplish, and goals beyond the reach of any human being. May Your Spirit be the deciding factor in everything I do, to Your Glory and Honor! Amen.