Obedient Stewardship

Judges 7:19–25 (ESV)
19So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 
20Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 
21Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 
22When they blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 
23And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian. 
24Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 
25And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan.

To Gideon, it may have seemed that Israel’s small army was too big for God to use. God is not limited, but God wanted to test Gideon’s faith. God told Gideon to send home the soldiers who were afraid of the battle ahead. He also gave Gideon a series of tests to challenge his men to see if they were properly equipped for battle. Gideon’s army went from 32,000 men to 300 brave and fighting soldiers. To no one’s surprise, Gideon was very worried and could put his trust in no one else except God. God gave Gideon encouragement by telling him to go spy on the Midianites camp in order to reassure him of His power. God allowed Gideon to gain great confidence through the loaf of barley bread in the camp of Midian and the sword of Gideon to build his faith upon. Through God’s power, Gideon was able to launch a sneak attack on the Midianites and strike them down. Gideon would not have been able to succeed at this without having complete faith in God.
      We are called to be good stewards of what God gives us, and we are called to be faithful servants of God. Stewardship and faith go hand in hand. God may give us a lot or a little, but either way, we must trust that God is working and that He has given us everything that we need to fulfill His calling on our lives. On paper, Gideon did not stand a chance, 300 vs. 135,000; however, his faith in God allowed him to strategize how to take down the giant army. God is in the driver’s seat, and He rules over all, but effort is still required from Gideon.
      We must consider three things when we study scripture: Guilt, Grace, and Gratitude.

Guilt – Where are we feeling convicted? What are we not stewarding well? Where is our faith placed?
Grace – Recognize our sin and ask God to forgive us. He shows us that we can fully trust Him and that we can rely on His plan to work our as long as we place our faith in Him alone.
Gratitude – We must be thankful for the privilege it is to worship God and to get to pursue God. We get to fulfill His will and we need to thank Him for the many blessing He provides us with in our lives.