The Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands. Judges 7:2
I don’t know about you but I hope with all my heart that as a woman of God my life will be a success. Like the apostle Paul I want to keep reaching forward and press onward toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. I want my life to be lived well and end well! But my human experience reminds me more often than I’d like to admit, that I’m a creature prone to fail.
According to Oxford Dictionaries the word success is defined as, “The accomplishment of an aim or purpose. Success can also mean completing an objective or reaching a goal.
There would be those who might say that investing, a good education, commitment and hard work are their strategy for success. Others might say that setting goals, prioritizing and a positive mental image are their formula for success.
Last but not least, those who have achieved success will tell you to surround yourself with highly successful people. I believe that education, hard work and prioritizing can benefit our lives on many levels. However, are these pursuits where we are placing our hope to live life well? As women of God is there something we need to anchor our lives in that has even greater value? I say, yes!
The world offers motivational speakers and seminars on success, with the message, “you have the power within yourself” or “have faith in yourself you can do it.” But when we read our bibles we find that God has a plan for a successful Christian life unlike the culture we live in.
But there’s a catch! God’s strategy and human strategy are completely opposite.
In Judges 7 we read something of an oxymoron! God looked at the size of Gideon’s army and His assessment is inconceivable. Just as Gideon was getting ready for the battle God told him to downsize the number of his soldiers. This was not the strategy for success that Gideon or God’s people were anticipating. As the story unfolds we see the bigger picture front and center. The victory was going to be given through faith in God. The glory was to be His and His alone. God knew that His people would be prone to boast in their accomplishments, so the downsizing would ensure that in no way could they take the credit.
Gideon downsized his army from 32,00 to 300. He had to cooperate with the will and wisdom of God before the victory was given. And the outcome? This small band of soldiers conquered the enemy who came to annihilate the people of God.
As women of faith we will discover that life is a series of battles throughout our journey. It’s never a “one and done” and the rest is smooth sailing. Our faith must be tested if we are to grow and become those women who stand and shine and share the hope and light of our Savior in a dark and hopeless world.
We will fall and yes we will fail, but our Lord delights to live His all glorious and all-powerful life in us through and through again and again. We can be the victorious Christian woman we long to be because He conquered the human condition when He rose from the dead. By Him, in Him and through Him (God’s strategy for success) we live and move and have our being, so that our boast is in God and not ourselves. Hallelujah!
When we realize that Jesus is our all-sufficient resource and strength, He will give us faith to believe the improbable and courage to achieve the impossible.
Heb 11:34 “from weakness were made strong”
