Long Odds
Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”
So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.
The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.” So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.
Judges 7:1-8
Author Mark Batterson makes an interesting observation:
“There is a pattern I see throughout Scripture: Sometimes God won’t intervene until something is humanly impossible.”
I think he’s right. Consider the example of Abraham siring a son at age 100. Or David taking on a giant with nothing but a sling. Or Elijah calling down fire. Or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepping into the fiery furnace. Or Mary conceiving a child while remaining a virgin. Or Peter being delivered from prison.
The list goes on and on. Though the oddsmakers didn’t give them much of a chance, these men and women rolled the dice. They went all in. And they hit the jackpot.
Sometimes God won’t intervene until something is humanly impossible. I think there are multiple reasons behind this. For one thing, long odds provide a great way for the Lord to demonstrate His power and love. They offer Him a chance to reveal more of His glory.
Long odds provide a great way for the Lord to demonstrate His power and love. They offer Him a chance to reveal more of His glory.
But there’s another reason. Long odds give us a chance to exercise our spiritual muscles. It’s only after we’ve been stretched that we find our faith to be stronger.
Long odds give us a chance to exercise our spiritual muscles. It’s only after we’ve been stretched that we find our faith to be stronger.
Gideon
I think that explains what happens in Judges 7. Gideon’s army is already outnumbered by the Midianites. They are certainly the underdogs in the upcoming battle. Then God says to him, “You have too many men for Me to deliver Midian into their hands.”
I’m sure Gideon was flabbergasted to hear this. Nonetheless, he pares down his army by two-thirds. To his shock, he hears the Lord say, “There are still too many men.”
Another troop reduction exercise is engaged and, in the end, Gideon ends up with an “army” of 300 men. The odds had to be a million to one at this point. Nonetheless, in the dead of night, the battle is engaged.
And here’s the kicker: Gideon wins. The enemy is routed and Israel is delivered.
So why does God do it this way? Scripture tells us:
“You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to Me that they saved themselves by their own strength” (Judges 7:2 NLT)
God knew that the odds needed to be impossible in order for Him to get all of the glory rather than some of the glory. And He knew that Gideon and his people would never have grown so hugely in their faith if they hadn’t been so stretched.
God knew that the odds needed to be impossible in order for Him to get ALL of the glory rather than SOME of the glory.
This seems to make so much sense, doesn’t it? Yet have you ever considered the fact that so many of our prayers revolve around asking God to reduce the odds in our lives…to make things easier for us?
We want everything in our favor. We want to know that what we’re asking for isn’t that much of a long shot.
Have you ever considered that many of our prayers revolve around asking God to reduce the odds in our lives…to make things easier for us?
But maybe God wants to stack the odds against us so we are totally brought to the end of ourselves. So that we will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the victory realized was all because of Him. So that He will get all the glory.
Maybe God wants to stack the odds against us so we are brought to the end of ourselves... so we will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the victory was all because of Him... so He will get all the glory.
I’m increasingly convinced that part of spiritual maturity is daring to take on longer and longer odds. To pray BIG prayers…to take BIG risks…to navigate the tightrope of life without using a safety net so often.
It’s in times like these, when we’re facing impossible situations, that our hands get clammy, our brows break out in a sweat, and our hearts start to pound. Those times can be, oh, so nerve-wracking.
Yet it’s in times like this that God is freed up to do amazing miracles. And if we don’t give Him that opportunity by taking the risk, we could well fail to see a whole new dimension of God’s glory and a whole new evidence of God’s Kingdom.
Prayer
Lord, You know that though I declare theologically that you are mighty to save, all too often I don’t live like that. I’ve learned to play it safe. While I may think that I’m doing so to keep from embarrassing You, in reality, I don’t want to embarrass me. Help me to see that for a disciple to live a “safe” life is really the ultimate embarrassment to You.
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