Gideon is recognized in Hebrews 11:32 as a man of faith. As is true with so many of us, Gideon didn’t consider himself a “super-hero”. In fact, when God called him to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Midianites, he informed the Lord that He made the wrong choice. In Judges 6:15 Gideon declared, “How can I do this task, Lord?” … “I’m too poor.” … “I’m least in my father’s house.”

Notice that Gideon thought that God told him to do the work. As we read on about the great military conquest in Judges 7, we see that it was Jehovah who ordained, directed, and won the battle. God merely called Gideon to be an instrument through which He could work.

Don’t misread or misunderstand the Scriptures. Gideon did have to do something. He had to be faithful and obedient to God’s Word. However, apart from God’s hand, there was no way that 300 men could have or would have defeated the Midianite army.

Many times we have these mental lapses in our Christian walk. We forget the Word, its promises and comfort, and rely upon our own resources to pull us through. Christians cannot and should not expect God to bless laziness, irresponsibility, or fearful procrastination. No, our faith (a noun) is demonstrated by our love (a verb). Faith is love in action. But I suggest to you that true faith recognizes that it’s God’s love in action through your life; we’re merely the instruments.

God does not call superstars. Our ability to serve Jesus is never hindered by our weakness or human limitations. (Consider Moses in Exodus 4:10-12 and Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:6-9.) Rather, we are hindered by our excuses and failure to see that it is Jesus working through us. The Lord does not call us to do His work apart from His power, and it’s foolish to try. Like Gideon, there is a tendency to have great faith when all visible support is around you. In his case, he was ready to fight because he had 32,000 men with him. But the Lord told Gideon that if He allowed the battle to go on and Israel was victorious, they would probably conclude that it was their ability that did it. Therefore, God trimmed the army down to just 300 men. No way, Jesus! This is impossible! I can’t do this! RIGHT ON.

You see, though we must be diligent to be obedient to our Lord, it is oftentimes our dilemma when we limit the Holy One of Israel to being nothing more than an extension of a “large me”. However, the odds are never against Christ. Therefore, for the child of God, the odds can never be against you. He may trim down your human confidences, if they be your security, but He will never leave you nor forsake you, nor cease from fighting on your behalf.

Yes, faith is vital in overcoming, but this victory is through the Lord Jesus Christ.