ParingDownAndtheUnderGOd

UV 1125/10,000 Paring Down to the Minimum
And the Lord said unto Gideon, “The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.”

Judges 7 v 2

The Lord pares us down to the bare minimum so that we know that it not our own strength or power that secured success or victory for us. When all generals would have aimed to mobilise the maximum possible strength in numbers, the Lord chose to have Israel only opt for 300 men. These three hundred were chosen on the basis that they lapped water from the Jordan not bending down on their knees but by lapping it like dogs from their cupped palms. The metaphor implies that it is not people who spend all their time on their knees that God uses. Rather He looks for people who lap up the Word of God like a dog, enthusiastically whenever they feel the need and when they are thirsty. He is looking for people who stand for Him in their workplaces.

The Lord hates it when people say that they did it all on their own strength. He rejoices when we give all the glory for all our breakthroughs in life to Him and Him alone. The other day I heard the testimony of a very successful businessman who said that he believed God’s promise that He would make him the head and not the tail as he trusted Him and His Word. We need to go out into the world wearing only the armour of faith just as David went to fight Goliath not wearing the heavy armour that Saul gave him but only his shepherd’s clothes. He was pared down to the minimum so that all the world knew that he achieved his great victory only on account of the faith He demonstrated in the Lord.

As we pare down the world and its influences on us to the bare minimum, we must increase in the grace and strength of the Lord. Then, it becomes the responsibility of the Lord to deliver us and to enable us to be successful and victorious in both the goals we set and the challenges we face. Even the bare minimum of resources are sufficient to accomplish a task if the Lord is with us. When we pare down to the minimum, we are pairing up with the Lord Himself. As D L Moody said, “ With God as our partner, make big plans.” The Lord God is not constrained by any limitations of circumstances, resources, ability, power or strategy. He delights in manifesting His glory in such situations on behalf of the underdog, the weak but faithful, the ones who believe and trust Him.

Prateep V Philip