God's Ways Bring All the Glory to Him - Judges 7-8 and Luke 5:1-16
God deserves all of the glory or the credit for everything in the universe. He created everything, and He sustains everything. Without Him there would be no life, and it is only through Him that life has meaning. As His creation, we ought to give Him all of the glory, because without Him we could do nothing. Anyone who does not see this is deluded or deceived. Therefore, God designs His ways to point us to Him, and to show us that He deserves all of the glory. This is not prideful on God's part. It is simply reality, and He knows that we need to operate on the basis of truth and not a lie. I pray that we all are giving Him the glory He deserves for everything in our lives every day.
The story of Gideon's victory over Midian is a fantastic example of this truth. God told Gideon that He would use Him to defeat Midian, but in order to make sure that everyone knew that the victory came from God alone, He ordered Gideon to pare down the army to 300 men. Most people would say that this strategy was stupid, and it would lead to defeat. How can 300 men defeat 135,000? It is impossible, but God can do the impossible. That is why He deserves all of the glory. Notice what happened when Gideon stopped following God's instructions and made the ephod. Gideon's plans led to idolatry, even after this great victory. This shows how easy it is for us to give God's glory to false gods and to other people. We must guard against giving glory to anyone except God.
In Luke 5 the fishermen are told to fish in the daytime and in the deep water. Both of these strategies were not the norm. In fact, a fisherman would not expect to catch anything in this way. However, when Jesus told them to put down their nets, it was to show them God's power and to show them God deserved the glory. God could do anything, so they could be fishers of men. The healing of the leper proved the same thing. I am sure that God has show each of us this truth at one time or another. We must give Him all of the glory so men and women are drawn to Him and not to us or the things of this world. Then, they will realize that God is worthy of all of our glory and praise. We owe everything to Him.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Judges 9-10 and Luke 5:17-39.
The story of Gideon's victory over Midian is a fantastic example of this truth. God told Gideon that He would use Him to defeat Midian, but in order to make sure that everyone knew that the victory came from God alone, He ordered Gideon to pare down the army to 300 men. Most people would say that this strategy was stupid, and it would lead to defeat. How can 300 men defeat 135,000? It is impossible, but God can do the impossible. That is why He deserves all of the glory. Notice what happened when Gideon stopped following God's instructions and made the ephod. Gideon's plans led to idolatry, even after this great victory. This shows how easy it is for us to give God's glory to false gods and to other people. We must guard against giving glory to anyone except God.
In Luke 5 the fishermen are told to fish in the daytime and in the deep water. Both of these strategies were not the norm. In fact, a fisherman would not expect to catch anything in this way. However, when Jesus told them to put down their nets, it was to show them God's power and to show them God deserved the glory. God could do anything, so they could be fishers of men. The healing of the leper proved the same thing. I am sure that God has show each of us this truth at one time or another. We must give Him all of the glory so men and women are drawn to Him and not to us or the things of this world. Then, they will realize that God is worthy of all of our glory and praise. We owe everything to Him.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Judges 9-10 and Luke 5:17-39.