God is our protector

​9-5-21
Today’s devotion is based on Judges 7:7,8. “The LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped, I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.” So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.”
The Israelite army was the underdog. It was outnumbered 135,000 to 32,000. Then after Gideon followed the Lord’s direction, it was outnumbered 135,000 to 300. That’s 450 Midianite soldiers to each Israelite! Impossible odds in an era of hand-to-hand combat. But the Lord gave his people the victory!
So why did God make it seem so impossible? He was making sure that the Israelites would not boast in their strength or think that the victory came from their planning or power. When it comes to our salvation, God wants us to recognize the same thing. He has done it all. We can do nothing!
Spiritually, each one of us was the most unlikely underdog imaginable. Not only were we separated from God by our sins, but we were also blinded by unbelief. On our own, we could not even make the first move toward God, nor did we want to. But God did the impossible by sending his Spirit through his Word to lead us to love and trust in his Son as our Savior from sin.
The victory is the Lord’s! Therefore, instead of boasting of our strength or righteousness, we rely on God, our Savior, and praise him for his gift of righteousness.
Please pray with me the prayer for today:  Dear Heavenly Father, you have done everything for my salvation. I have done nothing. You gave me faith when I had no faith.  I humbly ask that you give me such a faith that I, like Gideon will follow your directions even when whatever I am facing in life appears to be overwhelmingly against me.  In Jesus’ blessed name, I pray. Amen.