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The Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!”
Then Gideon said, “Pardon me, sir. If the Lord is with us, why are we having so many troubles? Our ancestors told us He did miracles. They told us the Lord brought them out of Egypt. But now He has left us. He has allowed the Midianites to defeat us.” (ICB version)
Gideon didn't look like a mighty warrior on the outside. His family was
the weakest of the twelve tribes of Israel. Gideon was the least important
of all the children in his father's home. But God chose Gideon to defeat the
enemy, the Midianites.
God wanted to make sure He got all the glory for the victory in battle. So He gave Gideon an army of three hundred brave men. There were too many men in the Midianite army for Gideon to count. How would Gideon and his three hundred men win the battle?
God told Gideon to give each of his men a torch, a trumpet, and a clay pot. The men went out in three groups. One hundred in each group. They surrounded the enemy's camp. The men blew their trumpets, broke their clay pots, and lit their torches. They tricked the enemy into thinking there were more than three hundred of them. Their enemy fled. Gideon and his brave men won the battle. Gideon gave the glory to God.
Gideon didn't feel like a warrior. But God told Gideon that's who he was. And Gideon trusted God with the impossible. Then Gideon's valiant three hundred men won the battle against too many Midianites to count. They won using torches, trumpets, and broken jars.
Have you ever felt defeated? You looked at your situation. The odds were against you. It seemed impossible to win.
Remember the story of Gideon. God used things that didn't seem to make sense to Gideon or his army for His glory. And God won the battle. Trust God's plan.