Judges 7:4-8 Trust in God

 4Then the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go. But if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

5So Gideon brought the people down to the water, and the LORD said to him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel to drink.” 6And the number of those who lapped the water with their hands to their mouths was three hundred men; all the others knelt to drink.

7Then the LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped the water I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hand. But all the others are to go home.”

8So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred men, who took charge of the provisions and rams’ horns of the others. And the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.

“The ancient Hebrew word for laps is yalok, used to imitate the sound a dog makes when lapping water.” (Guzik)

If you think about this test, men who knelt wouldn’t be able to survey their surroundings because they would be looking directly into the water but men who “laps” water from their hands could be looking around at their surroundings for the enemy.

“The test was peculiarly military. Men in such a position were not on guard against sudden surprise.” (Morgan)

“The thought is disturbing, but it may well be true, that the composition of God’s army to fight Satan’s hosts in any day is really little different. How many Christians are so fearful of the enemy that they are of no real use in this warfare, and how many of the remainder are so self-centered, rather than God centered, that they find little place for effective ministry.” (Wood)

“God assured Gideon that victory was certain, even through only 300 men. Now the Israeli army was less than 1% of its original size and the proportion was 400 Midianite soldiers to each Israeli soldier. Gideon could only trust in God because there was nothing else to trust.” (Guzik)

Mr Smith Wigglesworth, told a story of one night while asleep.  He had been having terribly frightening dreams.  At some point he awoke and aware of a demonic presence, looked around the room. There, near the foot of the bed was Satan himself. With a sigh, Smith simply said, "Oh, it's just you." rolled over and went back to sleep.

Are you fearful of the enemy or do you “trust in God” like Mr Wigglesworth?

Blessings