When God Makes You Smaller

Smaller, So God Gets the Glory

☐

Gideon started with 32,000 soldiers and ended with 300. God made his army smaller on purpose. All through the Bible, God does this again and again.

The reason. God told Gideon the army was too big, “lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me’” (Judges 7:2). God shrank the army so that everyone would know who won the battle.

An old warning. Moses had warned Israel that when life went well they might say their own power had made them rich. He told them to remember that it is God who gives the power (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).

Many or few. Jonathan once climbed toward a whole enemy camp with only his armor-bearer. He said that nothing can stop the Lord from saving by many or by few (1 Samuel 14:6). God won that day too.

Stand still. At the Red Sea, Moses told the frightened people, “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:14).

Not your battle. When a huge army came against King Jehoshaphat, God said, “the battle is not yours, but God's” (2 Chronicles 20:15).

Weak and helped. “He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29).

Paul's weakness. Paul had a painful problem he called a thorn. He asked God three times to take it away. God answered, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Clay jars. Paul also wrote, “we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Earthen vessels are clay jars, like the ones Gideon's men broke.

God's choice. “God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:27).

Made strong. Hebrews 11 names Gideon among people who “out of weakness were made strong” (Hebrews 11:34).

Without Jesus. Jesus said, “for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). That is not bad news. It means we never have to do life alone.

What we learn. When God makes you smaller, He is not being mean. He is making room for His strength, so that He gets the praise and you get to know Him.

What to do. Think of something you feel weak at. Tell God about it this week, and ask Him to be strong in that very place.

Judges 7 is not the only place God reduces His people before He saves them. It is a pattern that runs through the whole Bible and comes to its center in the gospel.

The danger named (Judges 7:2). God's concern was not the size of Midian but the heart of Israel. Victory with 32,000 would have fed the boast, “My own hand has saved me.” Pride does not only lie about us. It robs God of the honor that belongs to Him.

Deuteronomy 8:17-18. Moses warned that full barns and big herds would tempt Israel to say their own strength had made them wealthy. He told them to remember that God gives the power to get wealth. Gideon's reduced army taught the same lesson on a battlefield.

1 Samuel 14:6. Jonathan and his armor-bearer climbed toward a Philistine garrison, and Jonathan said that the Lord is not held back from saving by many or by few. He had learned Gideon's lesson.

Exodus 14:14 and 2 Chronicles 20:15. At the Red Sea and in Jehoshaphat's day, God told His people to stand still because the battle belonged to Him. In each case the people did almost nothing, and the result could only be explained by God.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10. Paul's thorn in the flesh kept him from pride after great revelations. God's answer was not to remove it but to give grace: “My strength is made perfect in weakness.” The Greek word for perfect is teleo (say: teh-LEH-oh), to finish or bring to full completion. God's power reaches its full work in a weak person.

2 Corinthians 4:7. The treasure is “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (4:6). The container is a cheap clay jar. The contrast is on purpose, “that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”

1 Corinthians 1:27. God's choice of the weak is not a backup plan. He chooses weak things to shame the mighty, so that no one can boast before Him.

Hebrews 11:32-34. Gideon is listed with those who “out of weakness were made strong.” Gideon was a fearful man with a shrinking army, yet he is remembered for faith.

John 15:5. Jesus said, “without Me you can do nothing.” Being made small brings us back to the truth about ourselves: every good thing we do flows from Him.

Isaiah 40:29-31. God “gives power to the weak.” The promise is not for the strong who feel no need, but for “those who wait on the Lord.”

Application. When you lose something you were leaning on, a talent, a friend, a plan, ask what God may be doing. He may be making you smaller so that you will trust Him more and He will get the glory.

Jesus Made Himself Small

☐

God made Gideon's army small. But the greatest example of all is Jesus. The Son of God chose to make Himself small to save us.

Rich, then poor. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

A baby. The One who made the stars was born as a baby and laid in a manger. He came to a small town, to a poor family.

All the way down. “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).

A servant. Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). A ransom is a price paid to set someone free.

Gentle and lowly. Jesus invites tired people: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Lowly means humble.

Lifted up. Because Jesus made Himself low, God raised Him from the dead and gave Him the name above every name (Philippians 2:9).

Our turn. John the Baptist said that Jesus must become greater and he must become less (John 3:30). That is a good prayer for us too.

Grace for the humble. “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

God lifts us. “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). Exalt means lift up.

Happy and humble. Humble people are not sad or gloomy. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). The poor in spirit know they need God.

Strong in Him. Paul could say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

What we learn. Jesus did not wait for us to become big and strong. He came low to save weak people like us, and He lifts up everyone who trusts Him. When God makes you smaller, you are walking the same road Jesus walked, and He walks it with you.

What to do. This week, do one quiet act of kindness that nobody will thank you for. Do it for Jesus.

Gideon's army was made small by God. Jesus made Himself small by His own choice. That is the heart of the gospel, and it changes how we see every time God makes us weak.

2 Corinthians 8:9. Paul uses Christ's poverty to teach generosity. Jesus' riches were the glory He shared with the Father. His poverty was the manger, the cross and the tomb. Our riches are forgiveness and life with God.

Philippians 2:5-8. Paul says Jesus, who was in the form of God, emptied Himself and took the form of a servant. The Greek word is ekenosen (say: eh-KEH-noh-sen), He emptied Himself. Jesus did not stop being God. He set aside His rights and became fully human.

Obedient to the cross (2:8). “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Crucifixion was the most shameful death in the Roman world. Jesus went all the way down.

Exalted (2:9-11). Because He went down, God lifted Him up. Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The way up in God's kingdom is always down first.

Mark 10:45. A ransom was the price paid to free a slave or a captive. Jesus came “to give His life a ransom for many.” His smallness was not weakness. It was love paying the price.

Matthew 11:28-29. “I am gentle and lowly in heart.” The Greek word for lowly is tapeinos (say: tah-pay-NOSS), low to the ground. The Lord of all describes His own heart this way.

John 3:30. When John the Baptist's followers were upset that people were leaving to follow Jesus, John said Jesus must increase and he must decrease. Like Gideon's army, John was content to grow smaller.

James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5-6. Both quote Proverbs 3:34: God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Humbling ourselves means putting ourselves under God's hand and trusting His timing.

Matthew 5:3. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” The kingdom belongs to people who know they bring nothing to God but their need.

Philippians 4:13 and Romans 8:37. Strength in Christ is not self-confidence. We are “more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” The power is His.

Application. Choose one way to serve this week where you will not get credit. Pray that Jesus would become greater in your life and that you would become less.

📖

Complete all sections to finish!

Read each section and answer the questions correctly.