May 11, 2022

Judges 7:2; NASB
And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to hand Midian over to them, otherwise Israel would become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has saved me.’

“Less is more.” Have you ever heard or used this phrase? It is intended to bring a more simplistic approach to things.

The idea is that having just the essential things is better than having way too much superfluous things. It allows you to focus on what matters.

Oftentimes it is used in advertising, or design. Sometimes we want to fill every aspect of the page with text or some design element. Don’t waste any room.

I always heard the term used in the context of music. Being a musician, and a drummer, it is learning that not every part of the song needs to be a drum solo or a guitar solo. Keeping the song simple, allowing space, creates an incredible dynamic in music. But if you crowd it with too much, it is difficult to listen to or discern what is happening.

Meaning, often as a drummer I was reminded, less is more.

Gideon is an interesting story in the Bible (you can read his whole story in Judges 6:11-8:35). Gideon was called by God to lead/judge Israel.

In this specific passage, God is leading Gideon to defeat the Midianites, for they were oppressing Israel. And as Gideon/Israel is preparing for battle God says, “Stop. You have too many with you. We need to reduce the numbers.”

Now, I imagine, as one leading an army to fight another group of people, “less is more” is not necessarily the strategy you want to have. In this instance I would prefer the thinking, “more is better.” Right?

But God has a habit of working in strange ways I don’t always understand.

So Gideon tells his army, “If anyone is afraid to fight, it’s ok. Go back home now.” And then, 22,000 soldiers left, leaving Gideon with 10,000 soldiers. I can only imagine the gut check, the mental anguish, the possible fear Gideon felt as he watched 2/3 of his army leave.

But then, God says, “You still have too many people. Let’s reduce the numbers.” And the number of soldiers in Israel’s army went from 10,000 down to 300.

Start your march to fight with 32,000 soldiers. Arrive at the battleground with 300. Call me crazy, but I would be terrified to head into a fight with so small a number.

But as I read this verse it made me wonder, “Are there areas in our lives we are not seeing victory because we are depending on our own power and not on God?”

Hear me out. I’m not trying to develop a theology that says we will never see victory or success as long as we try to do it on our own. People have overcome addictions and obstacles in their own lives who don’t believe in God. Nor am I saying we should just sit back in our La-Z-Boy recliners in life sipping an iced tea while God does all the work.

But I wonder, spiritually speaking, if we aren’t stuck in a rut, stunted in our growth, or drowning in the shallow end because we are more focused on what we can do to overcome than we are depending on God to do His mighty work.

It is interesting that God told His prophet Zechariah, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6; ESV). 

Let’s ask ourselves a couple questions. Where might God be saying “you’re depending too much on your own strength” in your life and spiritual growth right now? What are some ways we can depend more on Him and less on our own abilities? 

Remember, often when we are following God, it is best to go with the idea that less is more: less of us and more of Him.

-Pastor Brian