Judges 7:2-7
2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. 4 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the Lord said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.”
It is tempting to think of recovery as something we must do in our own strength. We certainly have a part to play, but it is not just a matter of being strong-willed. As part of the process, God wants us to learn to rely on His strength. This is similar to what happened to Gideon. He started with 32,000 men, a strong force to face the Midianites. But to prevent Israel from thinking that it was their own strength that saved them (verse 2), the Lord instructed Gideon to first let 22,000 men go, then to further only choose 300 men for battle. This seemed like a crazy way to achieve success, but Gideon obeyed. The result was not just a victory but also a deeper trust in God. Similarly, God wants us to learn to trust Him (even when it doesn't make sense), and to give Him the glory and honor for our healing, not boasting about how great we are to have overcome this problem.
Lord, I confess that my ego gets mixed in with how well (or not) I am doing spiritually. Help me to give You glory and praise for the healing in my life.
2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. 4 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the Lord said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.”
It is tempting to think of recovery as something we must do in our own strength. We certainly have a part to play, but it is not just a matter of being strong-willed. As part of the process, God wants us to learn to rely on His strength. This is similar to what happened to Gideon. He started with 32,000 men, a strong force to face the Midianites. But to prevent Israel from thinking that it was their own strength that saved them (verse 2), the Lord instructed Gideon to first let 22,000 men go, then to further only choose 300 men for battle. This seemed like a crazy way to achieve success, but Gideon obeyed. The result was not just a victory but also a deeper trust in God. Similarly, God wants us to learn to trust Him (even when it doesn't make sense), and to give Him the glory and honor for our healing, not boasting about how great we are to have overcome this problem.
Lord, I confess that my ego gets mixed in with how well (or not) I am doing spiritually. Help me to give You glory and praise for the healing in my life.