Under Gods command

Under Gods Command
Gideon defeats the Midianites

Judges 7:02 The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands.  In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.  But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men.  Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there.  If I say, this one shall go with you, he shall go, but if I say this one shall not go with you, he shall not go.  So Gideon took the men down to the water.  There the LORD told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink.” Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths.  All the rest got down on their knees to drink.  The LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands.  Let all the other men go, each to his own place. 

Self-sufficiency is a handicap when it causes us to believe we can do what needs to be done in our own strength.  To prevent this attitude among Gideon’s soldiers, God reduced their number from 32,000 to 300.  With an army this vastly outnumbered there could be no doubt that victory was from God.  The men could not take the credit.

Lets bring it home:  Like Gideon, we must recognize the danger of fighting in our own strength.  We can be confident of victory against life’s challenges and temptations only if we put our confidence in God and not ourselves.