And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east lay along the valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand on the seashore for multitude. Judges 7: 12 (Amplified Bible)
In our walk to the task may seem too daunting. The enemies gathered against us may seem as innumerable as the sand on the shore. But God does not lead us into the battle concerned about what man is concerned with. Numbers do not matter to God. Strength does not matter to God. Only faith and obedience matter to God. Gideon was faithful and obeyed God and with only the 300 men God had separated out, God delivered the enemies into his hands. Picture that for a moment. Only 300 against a multitude. Seemingly unconquerable odds according to the logic of man. But the 300 had God on their side. When the odds do not seem to be in your favor, remember Gideon and the words of the Apostle Paul:
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8: 31
Who indeed? This is why David was successful against Goliath. David was not a stupid man. He saw the size differential. He saw that the most powerful warriors were cowering in fear at the mere sight of the giant. While David understood the worldly perspective, he also understood the God perspective. The God perspective sees God as bigger than any giant we may face. The God perspective remembers all God has already done. David had already seen God deliver him before from the bear and the lion. The God perspective David possessed allowed him to see past the report of man. When it came to Goliath, that report was daunting:
A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him. 1Samuel 17: 4-7
Yikes. All worldly wisdom would say run and hide. That is what King Saul and the Israelites were doing. The God perspective however knows that God is bigger than this giant. The Prophet Isaiah teaches us:
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Isaiah 40: 12
David knew it was not he that went into battle with Goliath but God. Gideon knew that 300 versus a multitude are unfair odds when God is on the side of the 300. The God perspective allowed them both to look past what man would say in a given situation. It allowed them to focus on God. That is the key. When we are faced with the multitude coming against us or the giants in our lives that seem insurmountable, we must focus on God and what He has done for us and what He will do for us. If we focus instead on our surroundings, we are doomed to the restrictions man places on everything. The giants will seem too big. The multitudes will seem too overwhelming. Then fear and anxiety can set in, as it did for Israel when facing Goliath. We can start talking ourselves out of what God can do.
Don't place limits on God. Don't constrain God to the perspective of man. He does not require us to be the best or the brightest. He does not require us to be the most attractive or the strongest. Gideon was from the poorest clan in the tribe of Manasseh and David was the last son of Jesse considered. He only found himself at the front line of battle because he was delivering cheese to his brothers! But God called them both to the time they arose. He required the faith and obedience which comes from maintaining a God perspective and both Gideon and David complied. David slew his giant and would go on to lead Israel and have the Messiah come from his lineage. Gideon would deliver Israel from the oppression of the Midianites and here is how the Bible describes what followed in his life:
Thus was Midian subdued before the Israelites so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the land had peace and rest for forty years in the days of Gideon. Judges 8:28 (Amplified Bible)
Israel would go on to stray from God once again when Gideon passed away but his life reminds us that God will use anyone to accomplish His will for His glory. Gideon's life and the showdown of David and Goliath remind us that maintaining a God perspective will help us to overcome the giants in our lives and the insurmountable odds. Let God use you today for the purposes He has called you too and lean not on your own understanding. Watch the God perspective unleash the power of God in your life today as you labor for Him and His Kingdom.
Hallelujah!
Reverend Anthony Wade September 27, 2009
