When we were young, our parents, teachers, employers, and others encouraged us to “dream big”. Now we are all grown up and we might feel like we haven’t achieved much if it’s not a whopper accomplishment. We might even feel like we’ve failed if we didn’t meet our own expectations or the high expectations of others.
On the other hand, it is ironically providential that God has a way of making big things come from small, seemingly insignificant people, places and things. For example, Gideon tells the Lord that he is the youngest in his family and his family is the least in the tribe of Manasseh. How can he accomplish anything? Not only does God bring victory through Gideon, in Judges 7 we see Him reduce the number of fighting men tremendously – and they still defeat the enemy! God did that to show that the power is in Him, NOT man.
So we think we are not that significant AND what we do is insignificant, but God has a way of accomplishing great things from our little dreams. Remember the parable of the mustard seed? Jesus said, “…The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches” (Matthew 13:31-32).
So we might think teaching our children about Jesus isn’t that big of a deal and then the boy or girl grows up and becomes a missionary in a foreign country and God uses them to save 1,000’s. We dream small about teaching bible class and a young man becomes a mature Christian and serves as an elder. We teach a children’s bible class and some of the little girls grow up to become bible class teachers themselves. You contact a Christian who is hurting, and as a result of you making a small sacrifice to visit them, their outlook on life completely changes. You see, it’s those small dreams that lead to big things. God has an amazing way, doesn’t He?
Read Judges 7 and listen to Dream Small by Josh Wilson. Then dream small today and for the rest of your time on earth as you allow our great God to use you to bless others.
Judges 7
And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to hand Midian over to them, otherwise Israel would become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has saved me.’ Now therefore come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is afraid and worried, is to return and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand from the people returned, but ten thousand remained.
Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. So it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” So he brought the people down to the water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “You shall put everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps in one group, and everyone who kneels down to drink in another.” Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people kneeled down to drink water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “I will save you with the three hundred men who lapped, and will hand the Midianites over to you; so have all the other people go, each man to his home.” So the three hundred men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And Gideon dismissed all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the three hundred men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
Now on the same night it came about that the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have handed it over to you. But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp, so that you will hear what they say; and afterward you will have the courage to go down against the camp.” So he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the army that was in the camp. Now the Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the people of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent collapsed.” And his friend replied, “This is nothing other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has handed over to him Midian and all the camp.”
When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. Then he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has handed over to you the camp of Midian!” And he divided the three hundred men into three units, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers. Then he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. When I and all who are with me blow the trumpet, then you also blow the trumpets around the entire camp and say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”
So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle night watch, when they had just posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands. When the three units blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” And each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled. And when they blew the three hundred trumpets, the Lord set the sword of one against another even throughout the entire army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. And the men of Israel were summoned from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian.
Then Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against Midian and take control of the waters ahead of them, as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were summoned, and they took control of the waters as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan. And they captured the two leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb, while they pursued Midian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from across the Jordan.