As Gideon and his 300 soldiers prepared to face the enormous army of the Midianites, they banded together confidently, knowing that they were the ones chosen by God for the task! In the middle of the night, they split into three groups of a hundred, encircled the sleeping enemy soldiers, dropped clay pots containing fiery torches that quickly spread flames throughout the camp, blew their shofars (a Jewish instrument of war), and chaos immediately erupted in the midst of the otherwise skilled warriors. Since they were bloated in number, most of them had never met, and because they didn’t recognize each other’s faces, the Midianites began killing amongst themselves. Before long the entire army was either dead or had fled the camp, and victory came to the Israelites. Although they should have had strength in numbers, the Midianites didn’t have camaraderie or the bond of brotherhood to empower them to fight with a united purpose. Even more importantly, they didn’t have the power of Almighty God working on their behalf. 

My friend, it’s important to remember that more without the Lord always equals less. With Him at the center of any endeavor or battle, the victory is sure. However, striving in your own strength to make something happen will only frustrate and hasten defeat. While the world seeks to convince you that you need more in order to be happy, the truth is that less may be the best pathway to blessed. Relinquish the bloat and allow Jesus to promote, all in His good time.