And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing.

(Judges 8:4)

It is a good thing to learn to depend upon God to work through our feeble resources and yet, while so depending, to be absolutely faithful and diligent and not allow our trust to deteriorate into indolence.

We find no sloth or negligence in Gideon or his three hundred; though they were weak and few, they were completely loyal, and everything in them-down to their last breath was ready for God to use. Faint, yet pursuing was their watchword as they followed and finished their glorious victory. They did not rest until the last of their enemies was destroyed, and even their false friends were punished for their treachery and unfaithfulness.

God still calls the weakest instruments. When, however, he chooses and enables them, they are no longer weak but mighty through God (2 Corinthians 10:4) and faithful through His grace to every trust and opportunity. "They trust," as Dr. Chalmers used to say, "as though all depended upon God, and work as though all depended upon themselves."

Teach me, my blessed Master, to trust and obey.

Simpson, A.B. "Simpson Devotional:Judges 8:4."

The Alliance. 20 September, 2020