He Worshiped
Judges 7: 15-18 “When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped; and he returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Get up; for the Lord has given the army of Midian into your hand.” After he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and put trumpets into the hands of all of them, and empty jars, with torches inside the jars, he said to them, “Look at me, and do the same; when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets around the whole camp, and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”
We have been talking about times when praise and worship have won battles, broken chains, and set captives free. This is no exception. In Judges 6, Gideon is introduced as a reluctant and fearful man, threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. When the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and called him a mighty warrior, Gideon doubted the message, pointing out that his clan was the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh and that he was the least in his family. Despite Gideon’s doubts, God assured him of His presence and called him to deliver Israel from its enemies.
Chapter 7 begins by discussing a battle where Gideon went into battle with thousands of troops and yet was still outnumbered. Then God told Gideon that he had too many troops and he should send home any who were scared. A good majority of them went home. I think there were 3,000 left. Then God told him there were still too many and how to decide who else should leave. Now Gideon was down to 300 soldiers, and God was pleased. However, Gideon was not sure how this was going to work out. They were vastly outnumbered. It says in Judges 7:12 “The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the east lay along the valley as thick as locusts; and their camels were without number, countless as the sand on the seashore. And Gideon had 300 and God on his side.
One thing I love about this story is that it shows us that God knows us. He knows our weaknesses, and He loves us anyway. God knew that Gideon would be scared and would need some reassurance before going into battle. Judges 7:9-12 says, “That same night the Lord said to him, 'Get up, attack the camp; for I have given it into your hand. But if you fear to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah; and you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to attack the camp.” Then he went down with his servant Purah to the outposts of the armed men that were in the camp. While he was there, he overheard one of the enemy soldiers explaining a dream he had and talking about how great Gideon was. This gave Gideon all the confidence he needed to go into war trusting the Lord.
Do you see how God knew Gideon would be scared? Do you see how God didn’t discount Gideon because he was afraid to trust God and enter this seemingly unfair battle with just 300 men? God didn’t walk away and find someone else who was more qualified, or someone who would trust him without fail or without question. God saw Gideon’s fear and gave him what he needed to push past it. God is so good. He will do the same for you. God isn’t asking you to never be afraid of what He is calling you to do. He is asking you to trust Him and to do it anyway. If you feel you need confirmation or some sort of sign to know God is asking you to do it, then ask Him for that. He is faithful to answer when we ask.
I thought this story was great for our praise series because of the verses I picked for today. “When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped;” When Gideon heard the enemy talking about how powerful he was, He got the courage to push past his fear. However, before waking the army to tell them to go into battle, it says two very powerful words. He worshiped. You might even just gloss over those two words in the grand scheme of the whole story. However, the Lord highlighted them for me. He wanted me to not only see them, but to point them out to you. He doesn’t want us to miss it. Gideon knew where his strength came from. He knew who was going to win this battle for him, and it wasn’t those 300 soldiers. It was the Lord our God.
Gideon worshiped the Lord. Did this change the outcome of the war? I have no idea. Did it change how God won the war for them? Again, I have no idea. What I do know is that nothing is put in the Bible accidentally. Every word in the Bible has a meaning. There is a reason God wants us to know that before going into a war where he was incredibly outnumbered, Gideon worshiped. How about you? Are you in a war that seems unfair? Are you in a war where you seem outnumbered? Have you worshiped yet? Have you come to the Lord and asked for his help and then worshiped Him even though you might not have seen that help yet? If you are in a battle, whether it is medical, physical, financial, or some other kind of battle, and you don’t know what else to do, might I suggest worship? It seemed to work for Gideon; it could work for you, too!
I am not sure if you know this story, so let me go on to explain what happened. The verse says, “After he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and put trumpets into the hands of all of them, and empty jars, with torches inside the jars, he said to them, “Look at me, and do the same; when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets around the whole camp, and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”
These 300 soldiers were going into battle against an enemy with so many soldiers they couldn’t be counted, and instead of putting swords and shields in their hands, Gideon put trumpets and jars with torches in them. This is the amazing thing about letting God fight your battles: He rarely does what you think He will do. When they blew the trumpets and shouted, God threw the Midianite army into confusion, and the enemy turned on itself. Israel won the battle without fighting by strength.
God is not asking you to fight your battle alone. He is not asking you to figure out how to win the battle on your own. God is calling you to trust Him. He is calling you to invite Him into your struggle and then to listen to Him when He asks you to do something. God will solve your problem in ways you can’t even imagine. I know you can’t see a way out, and that is ok, you don’t have to. God can make a way out. Do you think those soldiers had any idea that all they had to do to win the war was to blow on a trumpet, smash a jar, and shout “For the Lord and for Gideon!” I am sure they probably thought the plan was crazy, and yet this plan saved them from having to fight at all.
God can do the same in your life. He can cure your disease without you doing anything. He can solve your problem in ways you can’t even conceive. God is calling us to praise and worship, and he will do the rest. If you are like me, you have been trying to solve your own problems and those of everyone around you for far too long. How has that been going? Why not give God a shot? I guarantee he can do better than we can.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we want to trust you. We want to push past our fear and do the thing you are calling us to do. Please help us. Lord, help us trust you and help us turn our battles over to you. Your plan is better than our plan. Please help us release all the control and hand it over to you. We love you, and we ask this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus! I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I. God is on your side, and we are both rooting for you—always. Have a blessed day.
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in September 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I have chosen you. I have anointed each one of you. Never, never forget that. You did not just wander here. You were led here. You are my children, my anointed children, my chosen children. Always, we will be together. We will walk together. We will decide together. Remain in my love.”
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