Good morning. What’s up with God? Have you ever noticed that as a military strategist His tactics were a little…out there?
When He commanded His people to conquer the fortress that was Jericho, a city that was considered in its day to be impregnable, God told His people to march around the city 7 times, and then to blow trumpets.
When He wanted to defeat the armies of the Midianites, Amalekites, and others, He located Gideon. When Gideon was located, he was timidly in hiding. His family background was far from godly, and his military experience was zero. But God convinced him to call together the Israelites into a fighting force of about 20,000. Then God made him trim that number to 300.
When Israel was being humiliated daily by the Philistine army and their greatest warrior, God inspires a young shepherd to take on the Philistine. By the way, this Philistine, whose name was Goliath, was huge. Did God send young David into battle with a bazooka? No, just a sling and 5 smooth stones.
I can’t imagine that such military planning would ever survive the situation room at the Pentagon or the war room on a battleship. From the perspective of humanity, none of those situations make any sense at all.
When Jesus found Himself the object of hatred and murderous plots by the Pharisees, He sent out His closest followers into that hostile world. He commands that they do not take with them any money, food, extra clothing, or even a common staff that could be used for protection. On the surface, it seems like He was sending lambs to the slaughterhouse or raw recruits on a suicide mission.
I ask it again, “What’s up with you God?” His answer is quite clear. Take a look at the results. In every case there is victory. Glorious victory! In every victory there is the clear understanding that it was not accomplished by the strengths, wits, or skills of those whom God commanded. Just the opposite is true. In every case it is through their weakness that God’s mighty strength is revealed. Consider this from 1 Corinthians 1.26-31: For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,so that no human beingmight boast in the presence of God. And because of himyou are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Wow. God choses the foolish, the weak, the low, and the despised to bring about His victories. It has never been about the strength of the plan or even the skills or powers of the Biblical heroes who carried out those plans. It was, is, and forever will be only about the glory and power of our Mighty God!
When God calls any one of us to do His will, it may seem like an unlikely task. It may even seem like it is way too much to ask of someone of our limited abilities.
That is when we need to remember that it is never about us, or our abilities. The victory belongs to the Lord!
May His glory be revealed in power and magnified by the weaknesses of His willing servants!
Vern