Gideon was a silly little man who was hiding in a cave so he wouldn’t get beat up by a group of tools from the next country over.  Then an angel calls him out.  Gideon mans up and calls together the remaining forces of the Israelite army- 32,000 guys in total.

He tells anyone who’s a chicken that they can just go ahead and get gone.  22,000 wusses leave (full disclosure: I’d probably be one of them!).  10,000 remain.  God says “too many Giddy.”

So Gideon calls a water break.  Every heads for the river.  9,700 of the men assume the pushup position and drink straight from the water.  300 cup it in their hands, presumably to inspect for dirt…or to keep an eye who for those who would seek to jump them from behind.

God goes- Gideon, I’m envisioning an army of 300 men to take on thousands. (sound familiar? Yeah, Hollywood likes to rip off the Bible!)  What God says next to Gideon in Judges 7:2 would have made me faint right on the spot…

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, each to his own place.”

Great Lord… We’ve got 10,000 brave soldiers, and you want me to take only those who don’t like getting their noses wet?!

Notice how God watches his wording- he didn’t tell Gideon that Gideon would beat the enemy.  He didn’t say that the army would beat the enemy.  He said that He’d take care of it.

And he did.  The day, those 300 men literally surround the enemy camp, light some matches, play some loud beats, and the sleeping army destroys itself.

All that to say…“Lead in such a way that the glory MUST go to God.”

That’s the key to becoming a great leader.  Step out in faith and tackle projects that are DESTINED TO FAIL unless God intervenes.

• The best churches are planted that way.
• The most influence ministries are built this way.
• The greatest missionaries knew this was their only hope.

If we can do it in our own strength, we’re not dreaming big enough.

Lead in such a way that the glory MUST go to God.

Jay