[One-Verse Meditation]

Judges 7:2 (NIV) “The LORD said to Gideon, ‘You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’’”

[Meditation]

When the Midianite coalition pitched camp in the Jezreel Valley, the Spirit of the LORD finally came upon Gideon. When he blew the trumpet, a staggering thirty-two thousand men gathered to him (6:34-35, 7:3). Yet, he still was not convinced. He had to reconfirm God’s will by twice asking for a sign, wetting and drying the fleece. Now, God’s presence is clear. But at that very moment, I see God giving a command that is utterly incomprehensible.

“Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead” (v. 3).

In a desperate situation where every single man counts, the Lord speaks these thunderous words. Then, as if they had been waiting, more than two-thirds of the men—twenty-two thousand—leave, and only ten thousand remain. Why, just why, did God give such a command?

The answer lies in today’s meditation verse.

“or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’”

That’s right. The Lord is one who never gives His glory to another. But looking at this from another angle, I see now this is also an expression of God’s deep love for us. Because He knows that if left to ourselves, we would find even a fingernail’s worth of a reason to say, “I did it with my own strength,” and fall into the pit of pride, the Lord first removes our points of boasting. This is the grace of God.

God’s way of working is different from the world’s addition. It is subtraction, a holy subtraction. When He erases our strength, our wisdom, and our experience one by one, we finally come to rely only on God. And in that very place of a poor heart, we witness not our own ability, but the glory of God. So, it seems the very place where my pride is broken is the stage where God’s salvation is most clearly revealed.

[Prayer]

Lord, I confess that all the conditions and outcomes of my life are ultimately materials that reveal Your salvation. Therefore, every single day becomes a thanksgiving, and every single day becomes a joy. Today, in the very place where my pride is broken, let me see Your dazzling glory. Amen.
__________________

(Daily Reading)

Judges 6:31-7:3