Meditate on God's Word !
32,000 to 10,000 to 300!
Judges 7:2-4 "And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained. 4 But the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there.
Something to Think About: God isn't interested in large numbers. Jesus choose 12 dedicated apostles who He spent most of His time with and developing them into a "small army" that would turn the world upside down. In the early church, around 60 A.D. in Ephesus one man named Paul and his followers enraged those who opposed him; "But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. 7 Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus.” Acts 17:5-7
God isn't interested in large numbers, but in the committed few, who would be willing to storm the gates of hell to pull even one person from eternal separation from God. "Then the LORD said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.” 8 So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. Judges 7:7-8 Here is what God is looking for as God told King Asa; "Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him." II Chronicles 17:8-9
The size of the army wasn't as important as the size of the faith of those that trust in God's power to overcome the enemy. How much faith is needed in life to believe in what we can't see or in being able to overcome obstacles. When the disciples of Jesus asked him to increase their faith, Jesus replied: "And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you." Luke 17:5-6 And as Paul taught the church at Rome about salvation, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17 As with Gideon, faith comes when we take the first step forward to believe that God can as we immerse ourselves in the Word of God. Then our faith is enhanced as we spend time meditating on the promises in the Word of God so when we hear the voice of God we can say as Isaiah said; "Here am I, send me" Isaiah 6:8