What Are You Carrying Today?

Have you ever wondered why God asks us to do things that don't make sense?

Gideon sure did. Here's a guy who was hiding in a winepress, threshing wheat in secret, terrified of the Midianites who had been oppressing Israel for seven years. When the angel of the Lord appeared and called him a "mighty warrior," Gideon probably looked around to see who the angel was really talking to. He came from the weakest clan in Israel and felt completely inadequate for the task ahead.

But God had a plan. After Gideon finally agreed to lead Israel against their enemies, he gathered 32,000 men. A decent army, right? Wrong. God said that was too many. He whittled the army down to just 300 soldiers. And then came the really strange part. Instead of arming these men with swords and shields, God told Gideon to give each man a trumpet, an empty pitcher, and a torch to hide inside the pitcher.