MIRACLES: AGAINST ALL ODDS

By Greg Russell | Renovate Church—Centennial, CO

As we continue our Miracles series, we are diving into Judges chapters 6–8 to explore the story of Gideon. It is a story about overwhelming odds, human weakness, and the undeniable hand of God.

“The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites… Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.”

— Judges 6:1, 6

The Pattern of Israel’s Struggle

Gideon lived a couple of hundred years after Moses led Israel toward the Promised Land. Despite clear warnings never to worship the gods of the surrounding nations, Israel fell into a repeating cycle:

Prosperity – They followed God and experienced peace.
Complacency & Sin – They began worshiping false gods.
Oppression – They fell into bondage or famine as a direct result.
Desperation & Cry for Help – They cried out to the Lord.
Deliverance – God raised up a leader to rescue them.

When we meet Gideon, Israel is at the absolute bottom of this cycle. For seven years, the Midianites marauded the land like swarms of locusts, destroying crops and livestock until Israel was left utterly destitute.

Overcoming Internal Obstacles

When the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, He greeted him with a startling declaration: “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12).

At that moment, Gideon was anything but a mighty warrior. He was hiding in a winepress, trying to thresh wheat out of sight of the Midianites. Before Gideon could step into his calling, two major obstacles had to be addressed:

Doubts About God: Gideon questioned God: “If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders?” (Judges 6:13). He didn’t initially realize their suffering was the direct result of their own choices.
Doubts About Himself: After God pointed Israel’s folly and the consequences, Gideon still pointed out his own limitations: “My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family” (Judges 6:15).

Much like He did with Moses, God responded not by addressing Gideon’s flaws, but with a promise: “I will be with you.”

Following that conversation, Gideon asked God to give him an additional sign that he was actually supposed to go to battle with the Midianites. He asked God to make the fleece wet and all of the ground around it dry one night, and then asked Him to make the ground wet and the fleece dry the following night. God delivered on both requests.

Clearing the Backyard Before the Battle

Before God dealt with the Midianite army, He addressed the root cause of Israel’s spiritual decline: idolatry. God instructed Gideon to tear down his family’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.

God did this for two crucial reasons:

Israel could not fulfill its mission to represent God to the nations while harboring idols.
God would not share His glory with false deities—there could be no confusion about who performed the miracles to come.

Redefining the Odds

Gideon assembled an army of 32,000 Israelites to face 135,000 Midianites. Humanly speaking, those were terrible odds—about 4 to 1. But God said, “You have too many men.”

God systematically reduced the army:

The Fearful Sent Home: 22,000 men left, leaving 10,000 (Judges 7:3).
The Water Test: God further reduced the force based on how they drank water, leaving only 300 men (Judges 7:7).

Army Comparison	Force Size	Ratio
Midianite Army	135,000	450 to 1
Gideon’s Final Army	300	1

God set up a 450-to-1 ratio because He wanted it to be unmistakably clear that deliverance came from Him alone. Equipped with nothing more than trumpets, clay jars, and torches, Gideon’s 300 men surrounded the enemy camp at night. When they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars, panic broke out among the Midianites, causing them to turn on one another and flee.

Key Takeaways for Today

1. Sin Has Consequences

Sin confuses us. Gideon was disillusioned, asking why God had abandoned Israel, completely blind to the fact that the problem was sitting in his own family’s backyard. While not all suffering is a direct result of personal sin (as seen in the life of Job), we should be quick to examine our own lives and hearts.

2. Miracles Follow Mission

Gideon famously asked God for confirmation via the fleece (Judges 6:36-40) because God was asking him to do something radical that God Himself initiated. Too often, we ask God for miraculous signs to confirm our own desires or initiatives. We shouldn’t test God over things He didn’t initiate. Miracles happen when we align with His mission.

3. God Works in Our Weakness

The greatest miracle in this story might be Gideon himself. God met a man cowering in a winepress and called him a “mighty warrior.” God spoke over Gideon what was not yet true, and worked through his doubts to make it a reality.

Walking It Out

The safest place in the universe is right in the center of God’s will. When you partner with God for His purposes, you place yourself where His power can move on your behalf.

Many theologians have labelled Gideon unfaithful and cowardly because he asked God for reassurance through the fleece. But there’s a difference between asking God to confirm your plans, and asking him to confirm his plans.

God isn’t a vending machine. But it’s okay to double check with Him when you think he might be calling you to something particularly risky.

Ask yourself:

Is there an “altar” or habit in my life that needs to be cleared out so I can fully walk in God’s plan?
Am I waiting for God to bless my agenda, or am I actively joining His mission?

Stay on mission—even when the odds seem stacked against you—and watch Him move.