Empty Hands

Mar 16, 2021

"The LORD said to Gideon, 'You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength.'"

- The LORD, Judges 7:2

"Real Happiness requires less than you think."

- Anonymous

One of the things children seem to love, as they grow older, is telling stories about when you, as the parent, messed up. Years ago, when the kids were young, we left on vacation, and Tyler forgot his shoes. Several hours later we're stopping at a restaurant for lunch, and Tyler's walking in barefoot… and the sign says, "No Shoes, No Service."

"Go get your shoes," I said.

And Tyler says, "I forgot 'em."

"What!" I shouted, "How can you forget your shoes?!"

Needless to say, Tyler loves to tell the story of how I way overreacted… while I love to tell the story of how he ended up getting a brand new pair of shoes. You see, Less is not More, unless you have a loving father who has resources beyond your own.

Sometimes, God will diminish you in order to deliver you.

Remember the story of Gideon, in Judges 7? The Midianites were threatening to annihilate the Israelites when God called Gideon to assemble an army. He put out a call and 32,000 showed up to fight against an enemy army of 250,000. So what did God do? Unbelievable! He told Gideon to reduce the size of his army… from 32,000 to 22,000 to 10,000. And then he told the men to go down to the water to drink… and the men who emptied their hands of their weapons and used their empty hands to scoop up the water were the one's God chose for Gideon's army. They were 300 in number. It's almost like God was saying:

"Come to me with Empty Hands. Put down your weapons. I'm not going to use whatever you have been depending on to win this battle."

You need to read the rest of the story… an amazing story of deliverance.

With God there is a thing called "blessed subtractions." That's when God will diminish you in order to deepen your faith in Him.

God had reduced the numbers so that Gideon would understand that numbers were not where his strength was… it wasn't the shoes, it was a loving Father who had capacities beyond Gideon’s. Be careful about putting your confidence in numbers… Because God is your strength.

If today, you're feeling like you're diminished in some way...

...you don't have enough money to retire.

...you lack the resources to keep your business afloat.

...you don't have a clue where the cure will come from for your illness.

...you don't have sufficient strength to keep your marriage together.

...you don't have enough of whatever it is you need to keep your son/daughter from trouble.

...you don't have enough peace to keep you from feeling like you're losing it.

...or… you just forgot your shoes… and it's like the world is falling apart...

Take a lesson from Gideon. When God reduces us numerically, it's to drive us to our Source. Let your empty hands reveal the strength and the presence of the God who loves you and who is with you to help you.