“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.’…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.’ 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley…17 And he said to them, ‘Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’
- Judges 6:2-18
Have you ever heard the old phrase, “God will never give you more than you can handle.”?
It is one of the most often repeated lies in the church. While God promised He would never give you more temptation than you could bear, always providing a way of escape, it is false to believe He has promised to never give us more than we can handle. In fact, I believe the opposite is more often true.
God consistently gives us more than we can handle so we learn to rely on Him rather than ourselves. He continually uses us to accomplish more than we should be capable of so He gets the credit. He frequently gives us more power, more influence, more authority, more responsibility, and more riches than we can handle on our own. He knows we are happiest in life when we are most dependent on Him!
Gideon is perfect proof of this. As God called Gideon to be a judge and rescuer of His people from the hands of the Midianites, He slammed the size of his army. God didn’t say their army was too small, but too big. If Gideon went to battle with an army that size, the people might mistakenly assume THEY won the victory. God whittled down Gideon’s army from over 30,000 to only 300 so everyone would know Who won the battle.
God loves to use unlikely people beyond their capabilities to prove what is happening is from Him, not them. As you hang your ornament, remember, God will consistently call you to more than you can handle so you rely on Him, and He gets the credit!