Category: Judges

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God Almighty

This morning, I read two amazing accounts of God’s power and greatness.

The first involves Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal. The story is recorded in I Kings 18. It had not rained in Israel for 3 years because the people had turned from God and were worshipping idols. Elijah and the prophets met on top of Mount Carmel for a showdown.

Each was to build an altar and sacrifice a bull. Neither was to put fire to the sacrifice, instead Baal’s prophets were to call on him and Elijah was to call on God to send fire to consume the sacrifice. Baal’s prophets prayed all day but there was no response. Elijah prayed and Almighty God sent fire that not only consumed the bull but the altar which had been soaked with water as well.

From there I went to Judges 15 and read an account of Samson and his encounter with the Philistines. The Lord had told Samson’s parents before he was born that he would be a deliverer of his people. Samson had a number of smaller skirmishes with the Philistines and so this particular time they came for him with an army. The Bible says “the Lord’s Spirit took control of Samson” and he fought the Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey, killing a thousand of them.

Now both of these true stories would sound like fiction if it wasn’t for the power of Almighty God.

After reading those two accounts I went to the Psalms and the next Psalm in my daily reading was Psalm 91.

“Live under the protection of God Most High and stay in the shadow of God All-Powerful.
2 Then you will say to the Lord, ‘You are my fortress, my place of safety; you are my God, and I trust you.’ 3 The Lord will keep you safe from secret traps and deadly diseases.
4 He will spread his wings over you and keep you secure. His faithfulness is like a shield or a city wall.

5 You won’t need to worry about dangers at night or arrows during the day. 6 And you won’t fear diseases that strike in the dark or sudden disaster at noon.7 You will not be harmed,
though thousands fall all around you. 8 And with your own eyes you will see the punishment of the wicked.
9 The Lord Most High is your fortress. Run to him for safety, 10 and no terrible disasters
    will strike you or your home.

11 God will command his angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will carry you in their arms, and you won’t hurt your feet on the stones. 13 You will overpower the strongest lions and the most deadly snakes.

14 The Lord says, ‘If you love me and truly know who I am, I will rescue you and keep you safe. 15 When you are in trouble, call out to me. I will answer and be there to protect and honor you. 16 You will live a long life and see my saving power.’” Psalm 91 CEV

When we are in trouble, we call out to the Lord and He will protect us. This is a promise from Almighty God to us who love and trust Him. God will strengthen and protect us!

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A Torch & A Trumpet

We’re coming to the end of Gideon’s defeat of the Midianites and the eastern kings. It’s an amazing story of God’s power and deliverance.

What I want you to remember is that this isn’t just an interesting story that’s told in children’s Sunday School classes, but it is a look at God’s heart and desire to intervene in the lives of His people.

Gideon’s army of 300 men should have been easily defeated. He had every reason to fear but God never left him to his own abilities. We pick up the story in Judges chapter 7.

“Gideon’s army camp was on top of a hill overlooking the Midianite camp in the valley.

9 That night, the Lord said to Gideon. “Get up! Attack the Midianite camp. I am going to let you defeat them, 10 but if you’re still afraid, you and your servant Purah should sneak down to their camp. 11 When you hear what the Midianites are saying, you’ll be brave enough to attack.” Judges 7:8-11 CEV

From the top of the hill where they were camped Gideon and his men could see the enemy camp. There were men and camels as far as the eye could see.

” 12 The camp was huge. The Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern nations covered the valley like a swarm of locusts. And it would be easier to count the grains of sand on a beach than to count their camels.” verse 12

Gideon was able to sneak up on two guards of the camp and overheard this conversation:

“Your dream must have been about Gideon, the Israelite commander. It means God will let him and his army defeat the Midianite army and everyone else in our camp.” verse 14

Gideon went back to his camp, divided his men into three groups of 100. He gave each man a trumpet and a torch concealed in a clay pot. Trumpets were used to sound the attack and torches would light their way. Gideon told them to wait for him to blow his trumpet and smash the jar holding the light and then they should follow suit.

“ The rest of Gideon’s soldiers blew the trumpets they were holding in their right hands. Then they smashed the jars and held the burning torches in their left hands. Everyone shouted, “Fight with your swords for the Lord and for Gideon!”

21 The enemy soldiers started yelling and tried to run away. Gideon’s troops stayed in their positions surrounding the camp 22 and blew their trumpets again. As they did, the Lord made the enemy soldiers pull out their swords and start fighting each other.” verses 20-22

Gideon’s men stayed in their places while confusion reigned in the enemy camp and they turned on one another; killing those in their encampment. When the enemy fled, Gideon pursued. Gideon sent messengers to the surrounding villages to come help in the fight. That day, the Bible says, over 120,000 of their enemies were killed.

I can’t help but remember different times in the Bible when trumpets were blown and other enemies were overcome. The trumpet sound was a sound of deliverance.

We who are followers of Christ should not fear. We are waiting for the sound of the trumpet.

“It will happen suddenly, quicker than the blink of an eye. At the sound of the last trumpet the dead will be raised. We will all be changed, so we will never die again. ” I Corinthians 15:52 CEV

Victory is ours in Christ.

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Victory at Fear Spring

I am really enjoying this look at Gideon’s life and the way God used him. I hope you are too.

When we left Gideon, he had destroyed the altar of Baal, and the Lord told him he would defeat the nations who were out to destroy Israel. Gideon sounded a trumpet, and his neighbors came to enlist in the fight. Messengers were sent to the surrounding tribes and more fighting men arrived.

Gideon had an army.

“Then they set out toward the enemy camp.

36-37 Gideon prayed to God, “I know that you promised to help me rescue Israel, but I need proof. Tonight I’ll spread a sheep skin on the stone floor of that threshing-place over there. If you really will help me rescue Israel, then tomorrow morning let there be dew on the skin, but let the stone floor be dry.”

38 And that’s just what happened. Early the next morning, Gideon got up and checked the sheep skin. He squeezed out enough water to fill a bowl. 39 But Gideon prayed to God again. “Don’t be angry with me,” Gideon said. “Let me try this just one more time, so I’ll really be sure you’ll help me. Only this time, let the skin be dry and the stone floor be wet.”

40 That night, God made the stone floor wet with dew, but he kept the sheep skin dry.” Judges 6:335-40 CEV

Let me repeat what I said a few days back. God doesn’t mind honest questions. Gideon was putting his life and the life of his men on the line, and he needed to be sure that God was leading him in this battle.

Gideon and his army went and camped at “Fear Springs”. Somehow that seems appropriate. This was the place where the Lord would remove all fear in a very unusual way. He began to reduce the size of the army.

“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.” Judges 7:2 CEV

Everyone who was afraid to fight was told to go home. Twenty-two thousand, two-thirds of the soldiers, went home. The Lord told Gideon you still have too many men. Take them to the Spring to drink. Separate the men into two groups – those who lay down to drink from the spring and those who scoop the water up in their hands. Of the ten thousand who remained only 300 scooped up the water; Gideon sent the rest home.

“ Then Gideon gave these orders, ‘You 300 men stay here. The rest of you may go home, but leave your food and trumpets with us.’ Gideon’s army camp was on top of a hill overlooking the Midianite camp in the valley.” Judges 7:8 CEV

It wasn’t just the Midianites that Gideon was about to face.

“All the Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern nations got together and crossed the Jordan River. Then they invaded the land of Israel and set up camp in Jezreel Valley.” Judges 6:33 CEV

Gideon is left with 300 men and God’s promise to be with them to fight the armies of these nations. Before the physical battle, they first had to win the mental and emotional battle. They had to conquer the battle at “Fear Springs”.

We face that same battle. Tomorrow we’ll cover the physical battle and the victory but today I encourage you to face “Fear Springs” and let the Lord show you how you can trust Him in the face of overwhelming odds.

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“The Lord Calms Our Fears”

Dave and I had an amazing weekend at the Grand Canyon. The beauty of the Lord’s creation is breath taking. It definitely reveals God’s greatness.

This morning, we will go back to Judges 6 and look at how the Lord revealed His greatness to Gideon.

 “Gideon,” the Lord answered, ‘you can rescue Israel because I am going to help you! Defeating the Midianites will be as easy as beating up one man.’

17 Gideon said, ‘It’s hard to believe that I’m actually talking to the Lord. Please do something so I’ll know that you really are the Lord. 18 And wait here until I bring you an offering.’

‘All right, I’ll wait,’ the Lord answered.” Judges 6:16-18 CEV

Gideon was sincere in his questions to the Lord. The Lord was patient and reassured Gideon that He would be his help.

Gideon went to make a meal for the Lord. He killed a goat, boiled it, made bread, baked it, then brought a bowl of broth, goat’s meat and a cake to offer to the Lord. I don’t know how long all this took but there was no microwave oven or air fryer so it took a while and the Lord waited.

When Gideon returned with the meal an angel had him put it on a rock and then the angel touched it with a staff and fire consumed it.

“Gideon realized that he had seen one of the Lord’s angels. ‘Oh!” he moaned. ‘Now I’m going to die.’ 23 ‘Calm down!’ the Lord told Gideon. ‘There’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re not going to die.’” Judges 6:22-23 CEV

Gideon was face to face with the Lord and saw His greatness. Remember, this is the same man who was threshing the wheat in a pit so he wouldn’t be seen by the Midianites who had been raiding his village. Fear was his middle name.

His people had been serving Baal and other gods for years. They had been rebellious, self-willed and had ignored God’s instructions. And now, the Lord had chosen this village, this man with his low self-esteem to be their delivered.

As the Lord’s instruction, Gideon went out that night with ten servants and his father’s second best bull and destroyed the altar of Baal. He used the wood to reconstruct an altar on the highest hill in town and then sacrificed the bull to the Lord.

“Gideon chose ten of his servants to help him, and they did everything God had said. But since Gideon was afraid of his family and the other people in Ophrah, he did it all at night.” verse 27 CEV

The next morning the town’s people and his father saw what he had done. The town’s people wanted to kill him, but his father stopped them by saying that Baal could defend himself if he really was a god. Gideon’s father changed his son’s name to Jerubbaal.

“That same day, Joash changed Gideon’s name to Jerubbaal, explaining, “He tore down Baal’s altar, so let Baal take revenge himself.” verse 32

Gideon’s story is one of conversion. His encounter with the Lord took him from serving Baal to honoring and obeying the Lord. The Lord’s words, “There’s nothing to be afraid of.” are also for us today.

When we depend on the Lord we will hear Him, “Fear not, I am with you”. Claim this day to be fear-free and trust in the Lord.

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Hang In There

I hope you took time to go to Judges, chapters 6 through 8 and read about Gideon’s conversation with the Lord. It’s a great story of God’s patience and provision.

“Then the Lord himself said, “Gideon, you will be strong, because I am giving you the power to rescue Israel from the Midianites.”

15 Gideon replied, “But how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest one in Manasseh, and everyone else in my family is more important than I am.”

16 “Gideon,” the Lord answered, “you can rescue Israel because I am going to help you! Defeating the Midianites will be as easy as beating up one man.” Judges 6:14-16 CEV

This morning it’s not about writing a thought that will inspire or encourage; it’s about DOING what we have already been taught. We should never stop learning, never stop receiving good teaching but it’s imperative that we LIVE what we hear.

“17 Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same. 18 God decided to give us life through the true message he sent to us. He wanted us to be the most important of all that he created.

19 My dear brothers and sisters, always be more willing to listen than to speak. Keep control of your anger. 20 Anger does not help you live the way God wants. 21 So get rid of everything evil in your lives—every kind of wrong you do. Be humble and accept God’s teaching that is planted in your hearts. This teaching can save you.

22 Do what God’s teaching says; don’t just listen and do nothing. When you only sit and listen, you are fooling yourselves. 23 Hearing God’s teaching and doing nothing is like looking at your face in the mirror 24 and doing nothing about what you saw. You go away and immediately forget how bad you looked. 25 But when you look into God’s perfect law that sets people free, pay attention to it. If you do what it says, you will have God’s blessing. Never just listen to his teaching and forget what you heard.” James 1:17-25 ERV

The Lord who spoke to Gideon is the same Lord who speaks to us. He hasn’t and doesn’t change. He took Gideon, the least important man in his community, and used him to bring deliverance to his nation.

When the Lord speaks into our lives He backs His word with His presence. He doesn’t participate in idle conversation. His word has power, and He invests that power in us. Even when we are timid like Gideon, we have God’s promise.

Hang in there and watch the Father bring His word to pass.

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Mighty Warrior

Those words are meant to describe each one of us. Retired or student, homemaker or executive, tall or short, degree or GED – our personal accomplishments or lack thereof are not what qualify us as mighty warriors.

Gideon was a man of no acclaim. Society didn’t recognize him as someone who was most likely to succeed or lead in local government. In fact, his family was the least important in his village and he was the last son of the last son on his family tree.

The Israelites had been under attack from the Midianites. At harvest, the Midianites would sweep in and steal their wheat crop, leaving them to starve. But God…

Gideon was threshing wheat in a pit when the Lord came to him. He was trying to conceal his actions from the Midianites. He was hiding. Not quite the actions you would expect to be taken by a mighty man of valor.

“The Midianites took almost everything that belonged to the Israelites, and the Israelites begged the Lord for help…One day an angel from the Lord went to the town of Ophrah and sat down under the big tree that belonged to Joash, a member of the Abiezer clan. Joash’s son Gideon was nearby, threshing grain in a shallow pit, where he could not be seen by the Midianites. 12 The angel appeared and spoke to Gideon, ‘The Lord is helping you, and you are a strong warrior.’” Judges 6:6-12 CEV

The Father sees all of us where we are, looks at our hearts and calls us to be courageous. It’s not by our own efforts or talents but by His ability. He simply wants us to be available to do what He asks.

“ Gideon answered, ‘Please don’t take this wrong, but if the Lord is helping us, then why have all of these awful things happened? We’ve heard how the Lord performed miracles and rescued our ancestors from Egypt. But those things happened long ago. Now the Lord has abandoned us to the Midianites.’

14 Then the Lord himself said, “Gideon, you will be strong, because I am giving you the power to rescue Israel from the Midianites.'” Judges 6:13-14 CEV

Please note, the Lord didn’t chastise Gideon for asking questions. Instead, He reaffirmed His plan.

The Lord says the same thing to us.

“ Christ gives me the strength to face anything.” Philippians 4:13 CEV

“Nothing is impossible for God!” Luke 1:37 CEV

“ God’s Spirit doesn’t make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power, love, and self-control.” II Timothy 1:7 CEV

Whether you are putting on your work boots and jeans, or flip flops and shorts you are a mighty warrior. Our heavenly Father has called each of us to a specific purpose, He will not abandon or desert us.

Get going mighty warrior, face the day and let God provide you with power!

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Be Alert

A couple of days ago I made mention of the game we played, Follow the Leader. As a follower we needed to be alert to the actions of the leader, if they went right so did we. If they jumped, we did too. We were watchful.

In Psalm 23 a different type of alertness is described. It’s the leader who is alert. Using His rod and staff to direct our progress so we don’t fall into dangerous situations.

In my prayer time today, those are the two words that rose up in my heart, be alert. Immediately I remembered the story of Gideon and his army of 300 mighty men. In case you aren’t familiar with Gideon I will give you a brief backstory.

Gideon was the seventh son, last man in line for any inheritance or blessing. The Israelites were being attacked by Midianites every harvest time. They would rob the grain that the Israelites had grown. It got so bad that Gideon was threshing the family crop in a pit to avoid detection.

This is where the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon. He needed Gideon to lead an assault. He came to a cowering nobody and this is what He said and Gideon’s response:

“ The angel appeared and spoke to Gideon, ‘The Lord is helping you, and you are a strong warrior.‘ 13 Gideon answered, ‘Please don’t take this wrong, but if the Lord is helping us, then why have all of these awful things happened?…'” Judges 6:12-13 CEV

Through a series of events (I encourage you to read the whole story in Judges 6-8), the Lord showed Gideon if he would follow God’s leading, Gideon and his army could defeat the Midianites and the Amalekites who had been warring against them.

Gideon had 32,000 men enlist in the fight. The Lord said that was too many so Gideon sent home everyone who admitted they were afraid; 22,000 left.

“‘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.’5 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.’ 6 Three hundred men scooped up water in their hands and lapped it, and the rest knelt to get a drink. 7 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 300 defeat the Midianites.’” Judges 7:4-6 CEV

300 men – men who were alert, always checking their surroundings for the enemy. With these 300 men at the ready, God led Gideon to victory!

“…Everyone shouted, ‘Fight with your swords for the Lord and for Gideon!’ 21 The enemy soldiers started yelling and tried to run away. Gideon’s troops stayed in their positions surrounding the camp 22 and blew their trumpets again. As they did, the Lord made the enemy soldiers pull out their swords and start fighting each other.” Judges 7:20-22 CEV

After the battle was over Gideon had gone from being the least respected man in town to hero. They wanted him to be there king.

“ ‘No,’ Gideon replied, ‘I won’t be your king, and my son won’t be king either. Only the Lord is your ruler.” Judges 8:23 CEV

God found in Gideon someone who was willing to be used. Gideon, with God’s leading found men who were alert and ready for battle.

“The eyes of the Lord go around looking in all the earth for people who are faithful to him so that he can make them strong.” II Chronicles 16:9 ERV

God is looking for those who will follow His lead.

“Give all your worries to him, because he cares for you. 8 Control yourselves and be careful! The devil is your enemy, and he goes around like a roaring lion looking for someone to attack and eat.” I Peter 5:7-8 ERV

“So give yourselves to God. Stand against the devil, and he will run away from you.” James 4:7  ERV

Just like the enemy ran from Gideon’s army, our enemy will run when we stand in God’s strength and follow His lead. Be Alert!

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Getting God’s Perspective

A few weeks back I was reading the story of Gideon and how God used him, even when Gideon doubted his own worth.

Something in Gideon strikes a cord in me.

Meet Gideon. We find him threshing grain in a wine press, a very impractical endeavor. Part of winnowing the grain requires it to be thrown in the air, letting the chaff be blown away and the grain heads remain. But there is no breeze in a wine press. A counterproductive effort at best. Gideon was living in fear.

The Lord sent an angel to encourage Gideon and look what the angel says:

“The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord be with you, brave soldier.” 13 Then Gideon said, “Pardon me, sir, but if the Lord is with us, why are we having so many troubles?… 14 The Lord turned toward Gideon and said, “Then use your great power and go save the Israelites from the Midianites. I am sending you to save them.” Judges 6:12-14 ERV

The first thing the Lord did was give Gideon His perspective. Gideon saw himself as timid and afraid but God called him brave. Then the Lord commissioned Gideon to save the nation.

Much is said in Judges 6-7 between Gideon and the Lord. God proved to Gideon that He could be trusted and He would empower Gideon for whatever battle he faced.

Gideon started out with an army of 32,000 men and God reduced the size to 300. Gideon sent home everyone who was afraid to fight and also those who weren’t alert enough to watch for danger.

“The Lord said to Gideon, ‘I will use the 300 men who lapped the water like a dog. I will use them to save you, and I will allow you to defeat the Midianites. Let the other men go home.’” Judges 7:7 ERV

Greatly outnumbered and out skilled, Gideon and his small band of soldiers faced overwhelming odds but he had a promise. God had promised him victory.

“Then all three groups of Gideon’s men blew their trumpets and smashed their jars. The men held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands. As they blew their trumpets, they shouted, ‘A sword for the Lord and a sword for Gideon!’

21 Gideon’s men stayed where they were. But inside the camp, the men of Midian began shouting and running away. 22 When Gideon’s 300 men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the men of Midian to kill each other with their swords.” Judges 7:20-22 ERV

Was Gideon someone special? Not in the natural. Gideon said of himself that he was the youngest son of the most insignificant family in his tribe. But, God saw someone who would trust Him.

“The Lord answered Gideon and said, ‘I will be with you, so you can defeat the Midianites as easily as if they were only one man.’” Judges 6:16 ERV

How do you see yourself? Do you doubt your value and abilities?

I’ve said it before but I will remind you again. The greatest ability that God is looking for is availability. God is still looking for those, like Gideon, who will trust Him in spite of their own shortcomings.

Let God give you His perspective!

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Is Hope Gone?

When we go through a long battle or struggle we are tempted to lose hope and throw in the towel. However, when we keep our focus on God’s unfailing love hope is revived and our faith is strengthened…

One final example I would like to share with you comes from the life of Samson. I am not sure if you are familiar with Samson’s life so I will recap it for you.

His parents were visited by an angel who told them that they would have a son and he would be used by God to lead the people of Israel. Samson single-handedly defeated one thousand Philistine soldiers and his weapon was the jawbone of a donkey. There was another occasion when he lifted the city gates and their door posts and “he carried them all the way to the top of the hill that overlooks Hebron, where he set the doors down, still closed and locked” (Judges 16:3)

During this time, the Israelites were being ruled by the Philistines. The leaders of the Philistines became so angry with Samson that they hired a prostitute, that Samson loved, to discover his source of strength. They knew there had to be a secret to his strength because he was undefeatable.

Delilah spent every waking moment trying to get Samson to tell her his secret. He finally gave in to her constant nagging and told her that he had never had his hair cut because it was a sign of his commitment to the Lord.

“Delilah started nagging and pestering him day after day, until he couldn’t stand it any longer. 17 Finally, Samson told her the truth. ‘I have belonged to God ever since I was born, so my hair has never been cut. If it were ever cut off, my strength would leave me, and I would be as weak as anyone else.’…”  Judges 16:16-18 CEV

The Philistines came and cut Samson’s hair while he was sleeping. When he woke up his strength was gone. The Philistines poked out Samson’s eyes, imprisoned him and then tied him to a millstone and made him grind grain like an ox.

During this time Samson’s hair was growing back but they did not notice. The Philistines had a big party and were praising their god, Dagon, for helping them to defeat Samson. To make the ridicule worse, they brought Samson out to be mocked in the temple of their god. Samson was led by a young man to the temple columns. As he stood there, he stretched out his arms and placed them against the columns.

“A young man was leading Samson by the hand, and Samson said to him, ‘I need to lean against something. Take me over to the columns that hold up the roof.’

27 The Philistine rulers were celebrating in a temple packed with people…They had all been watching Samson and making fun of him. 28 Samson prayed, ‘Please remember me, Lord God. The Philistines poked out my eyes, but make me strong one last time, so I can take revenge for at least one of my eyes!’

29 Samson was standing between the two middle columns that held up the roof. He felt around and found one column with his right hand, and the other with his left hand. 30 Then he shouted, ‘Let me die with the Philistines!’ He pushed against the columns as hard as he could, and the temple collapsed with the Philistine rulers and everyone else still inside. Samson killed more Philistines when he died than he had killed during his entire life.” Judges 16:26-30 CEV

The enemies of Samson thought they had defeated him. All hope was gone. But God!

In his death Samson had once again become an “overcomer”. His enemies had no power over him. God was his strength and his deliverer.

The circumstances of life may look overpowering, but God is a promise keeper not a promise breaker. He has given us His word to be our protection and our strength.     

“The Lord God will save them on that day, because they are his people and they will shine on his land like jewels in a crown.” Zechariah 9:16 CEV

Through Christ we overcome. Through Christ we always triumph!

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More Than is Good!

Words have true meaning. In yesterday’s verses we saw that the Bible says we are MORE THAN conquerors in Christ…

When we are a conqueror, we are the winner. How can we be more than a conqueror?

I asked the Lord about this one day and He reminded me of the times in the Old Testament when He went with the Israelites in battle and they were victorious without engaging in the fight. They showed up trusting God, but it was the Lord who did the fighting. They just gathered the spoils of war when it was over.

 Let’s look at a couple of those battles. There was Gideon; in his obedience he was required to break a few water pots and blow a few horns. The Lord caused the enemy to become confused, the army killed themselves and Gideon carried home the riches.

“The camp was huge. The Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern nations covered the valley like a swarm of locusts. And it would be easier to count the grains of sand on a beach than to count their camels. 13 Gideon overheard one enemy guard telling another, ‘I had a dream about a flatloaf of barley bread that came tumbling into our camp. It hit the headquarters tent, and the tent flipped over and fell down.’

14 The other soldier answered, ‘Your dream must have been about Gideon, the Israelite commander. It means God will let him and his army defeat the Midianite army and everyone else in our camp.’

15 As soon as Gideon heard about the dream and what it meant, he bowed down to praise God. Then he went back to the Israelite camp and shouted, ‘Let’s go! The Lord is going to let us defeat the Midianite army.’

16 Gideon divided his little army into three groups of one hundred men, and he gave each soldier a trumpet and a large clay jar with a burning torch inside. 17-18 Gideon said, ‘When we get to the enemy camp, spread out and surround it. Then wait for me to blow a signal on my trumpet. As soon as you hear it, blow your trumpets and shout, ‘Fight for the Lord! Fight for Gideon!’

19 Gideon and his group reached the edge of the enemy camp a few hours after dark, just after the new guards had come on duty. Gideon and his soldiers blew their trumpets and smashed the clay jars that were hiding the torches. 20 The rest of Gideon’s soldiers blew the trumpets they were holding in their right hands. Then they smashed the jars and held the burning torches in their left hands. Everyone shouted, ‘Fight with your swords for the Lord and for Gideon!’

21 The enemy soldiers started yelling and tried to run away. Gideon’s troops stayed in their positions surrounding the camp 22 and blew their trumpets again. As they did, the Lord made the enemy soldiers pull out their swords and start fighting each other.” Judges 7:12-22 CEV

Gideon was definitely more than a conqueror.

Gideon was an unqualified soldier, an unproven leader and God chose him anway because his heart was right. It wasn’t Gideon’s might or ability that won the battle, it was his availiablity.

God will use any of us who are willing and available. His plan is that we, too, are more than a conqueror!

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