Recognize God is With You

I was reading a story in the Bible about Gideon (It’s in the O.T. Judges 7 to be exact). In the story God tells Gideon to break down his army of 32,000 men to just 300! They were going to fight another army (the Midianites). I’m sure their chances would have been better if they had 32,000 right? WRONG! God broke the army down to 300 & they actually won their fight. I was like how?! The reason God broke Gideon’s army down to 300 is because He wanted Gideon to understand the significance of having God with him.

The reason you & I would automatically discredit such a small army is because you as well as I are looking at the numbers. To me the bigger the numbers the better chances of victory. The thing about God is He doesn’t operate by this rule. He is not intimidated or moved by numbers. He is not moved by what things appear to be. My grandfather had a saying that goes “God doesn’t count the numbers. He makes the numbers count.” I can remember him saying that to me & I was like “. . . wait what?” (lol). He had a lot of sayings exactly like that which made no sense at the time. It wasn’t until I grew up that I got the understanding of what he meant. Gideon won not because of how many he had but because among the small numbers God was with them.

Today I wrote to tell you how beneficial it is to have God with you as you journey through your life. I recently read one of my journals from 3 years ago. I remember the cool mornings I would get out my spiral tablet & write to God the requests, problems, fears, & desires I had. I remember the wooden table in the room with hardwood floors where I would sit & write to God every morning before the sun came up. I recently found this old journal & started to read through it. Reading those pages brought back the feelings I felt at the time I was writing. It was reminiscing through my old journal that made me begin to evaluate the level of progress between then & now. Had God answered my prayers? Or was I just making up all of this “God” stuff in my own mind. I started to think back. I remember when I lost my job & I told God & within a week of searching I got a job that was better in every way than the one I lost. I remember praying about a relationship decision that made itself apparent as time went by. I remember what I had in my bank account & I asked God to help me save more. I remember I asked God for direction that it never seemed like I received so I made certain decisions that I felt were calling to me. Those decisions proved to be lasting even until now. As I reflected, I became overwhelmed. To this day I remember what it felt like as I experienced those life changing events. I also remember that as I was experiencing those things I didn’t see or feel God anywhere. But as I continued to reflect, I started to see a pattern. Keep in mind I had never evaluated the events of life before that day. What I discovered that day really touched me in a way I can’t completely describe. I had to stop reading. With tears in my eyes I quietly said thank you God. It was in that moment I realized that God had been with me. It was Him who made things turn out the way they turned out. The specific things I wrote on those pages I hadn’t looked at or spoken to anyone about. My requests from 3 years ago are now reality. How? Because God was with me, I just hadn’t recognized it so vividly until that day.

Today I want you to understand that God doesn’t stop things from happening. God doesn’t stop things from looking bad or feeling bad. He never promised to stop any of those things. He does however promise to be with you no matter what you go through. While that promise doesn’t seem significant when you read it, I encourage you to look back over your life. If you don’t have conclusive evidence of God’s presence I want you to do this exercise. From this day forward begin writing your honest prayers to God. WRITE THEM. Hide it so nobody knows it exists & keep it between you & God. You’re going to build your own personal evidence of God’s unseen presence.

I want you to know that I make sacrifices to keep God’s presence a part of my life. I do certain things as well as don’t do certain things not because I’m “so holy or super spiritual”, but because I know that God’s presence being with me makes a significant difference. His presence is the deciding factor between me winning in life & losing. His presence is just as powerful in your life, maybe you just haven’t recognized it.