Victory Through WeaknessSample

A Unique Vessel

God is not interested in supporting the proud in their personal achievements. God delights in demonstrating his power through those the world considers weak. You may view yourself as having a disadvantage due to some weakness or circumstance, but God intentionally created you to be a unique vessel to display his power.

The Bible is rich with examples of God choosing to do wondrous things through those the world did not deem worthy. The Old Testament provides us with an illustration of this in the story of Gideon. God handpicked Gideon, a man not only from the weakest tribe but also ranked least in his father’s house, to lead Israel’s army. He was also weak in faith, as he doubted God’s power. Gideon asked God to perform two miraculous signs with a fleece—his faith was so small that he needed God to do two miracles before he would trust and obey.

When God chose Gideon, he had a specific plan in mind: to use the weakest vessel to do a mighty work. God methodically whittled away the large army Gideon planned to lead into battle. By the end of the process, God had dismissed the majority of the thirty-two thousand men, leaving him with only three hundred. Israel could not dare boast when they had won the battle.

It seems curious that God would select Gideon to be his leader for this special event in history when he could have had his pick from the best of Israel. Why would God choose not to take the easy victory with thirty-two thousand men? From a human standpoint, a typical commander would not take unnecessary risks. But God knew that if the army were larger and stronger, they would be tempted to say that “they saved themselves by their own strength” (Judges 7:2).

God wants each of us to be dependent on his strength. If you are struggling with a disability or diagnosis, you may consider yourself at a disadvantage, but God did not make you this way by accident. You don’t have to be ashamed of the way the Creator formed you. As with Gideon, God is most glorified through weakness because it puts his power on display! When our strength, talents, opportunities, and prospects are limited, we are able to see most clearly the wisdom, glory, and power of God working directly in our lives.