Gideon is a prime example of God’s recruitment strategy. In the face of a massive army of Midianite marauders, God pared Gideon’s pool of fighting men from 22,000 to 10,000, and then to 300. God wanted to make it clear to Gideon, to his band of brothers, and to the readers of Scripture that victory is found not in our own might but in the Lord. 

God’s Counterintuitive Strength

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”(2 Cor. 12:9, NKJV)

I was open in the end zone. I was always open. No one bothered to guard the ninth grade kid who was regularly picked last for anything athletic.

But one day in the huddle the quarterback called my figurative number. He told me to go across the goal line and stand there. He would throw me the ball.

We broke the huddle. The football was snapped. Kids started running all over the place. I found my way to the end zone. Sure enough, no one covered me.

The quarterback looked left and the defenders went with his eyes. He then looked right and tossed the ball to where he had told me to stand. The ball flew through the air toward me. It fell right into my trembling hands, and stayed there. I had caught the ball and scored a touchdown.

It seems a crafty tactic to use the weak and unwanted. Who would expect it? Yet God does just that, but for different reasons.

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