You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands… – Judges 7:2 (NIV)

One of the great things about being a smaller church is that it gives God greater opportunity to glorify himself.  At least that’s what I’ve been telling God lately.  I’m encouraged to continue that prayer because I read proof of it in the account of Gideon in Judges 6:33-7:25. 

Gideon trusted God to use him to save Israel out of the hand of Midian though his clan was weakest and he was least in his family (Judges 6:14-16).  He rallied the forces of Israel amassing an army of 32,000 men. 

God then whittled Gideon’s forces down from 32,000 to 10,000 (Judges 7:3).  That was still too many, so God reduced his army from 10,000 to just 300 men (Judges 7:4-7).  Why?  “In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her…” (Judges 7:2, NIV). 

It is the nature of God’s saving grace to rescue us from ourselves.  We live most of our lives thinking we’re OK with God because of what we’ve done (or not done).  Into that ‘boasting’ God’s penetrating grace cuts to our hearts.  He says, “You are not OK before me.  You have sinned.  You cannot save yourself, but I can.  I will.”  Or, as Paul put it,

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly… God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6, 8, NIV).

But, that is not just the nature of his saving grace, it is also the nature of his sanctifying grace.  Again, Paul shows us:

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10, NIV)

We are by nature tempted to take credit for anything we can possibly grab hold of.  I realized that in our recent house sale.  I am so thankful that God recently sold our house quickly because I know my heart. If it had taken a little longer, I would have been tempted to take credit for it (great staging, perfect pictures, wise timing, etc.).  There is no reasonable way I can take credit for what he did in selling our house, in this area, during this housing slump.  (Of course now I’m tempted to take credit for my great faith!)  

So, I have been praying that God, in his grace, would continue to save us from ourselves.  I pray that he will work so amazingly in the life of this church that none of us would even come close to being tempted to take credit for it.  I know that if God does a little bit, we’re going to want to take credit for it (to boast in our ‘strength’). If the church adds a few members every year, I’m going to think its wonderful preaching. If the budget ends up a little in the black, we’re going to think it’s our wonderful generosity… You get the idea.

To protect us from boasting, I’m praying that God will grow the church in tremendous numbers, meet the budget in astounding ways, and impact this community so powerfully that to boast in ourselves would be laughable.  Will you pray that way as well?  Will you believe that when we are weak, then God is strong?

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV)