God-Pleasing Faith

The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength. [Judges 7.2]

There is an inherent problem in mankind. That problem is that man tends to trust in himself instead of God. God is not undecided about He feels about this problem!

“You must not have any other god but me. [Exodus 20.3]

If this tendency was problematic for ancient Israel, how much more of a problem is it for modern Christianity with man's vast knowledge and extraordinary inventions?

What if Gideon had said, "Well, God gave us 32,000 warriors, so we are trusting in Him if we all go to battle against Midian."? We can be sure he would have received a severe rebuke from God because, in God's omniscience, He knew their trust would have been in their own strength and NOT in His (even though they could argue that God gave the 32,000 warriors and therefore the strength)! 

Let it be stated clearly here that what man calls faith and what God calls faith are not the same (and God's definition of it is the correct one).

Here is what most Christians call faith today: utilization of debt, insurance, medicine and technology. Christians argue that if God gave these "blessings" (like Gideon's army of 32,000) then it is "faith" to use them. In contrast, if Gideon's story conveys any indication whatsoever of how God feels about it, then man's inventions of debt, insurance, medicine and technology can all too easily be idolatrously trusted instead of God. God-pleasing faith would therefore severely limit the utilization of these things as a declaration of faith in God alone and not the things.

Here's the real question. If God Himself doubted Israel's faithfulness to Him alone in their large army, how much more does a Godless world doubt our faith in God alone in our utilization of man's inventions?

Christians today religiously speak of faith in God, but God and the world both know it is nothing more than faith in man's many inventions.

God-pleasing faith is not disputably plural and abstract. God-pleasing faith is indisputably singular and real.

How incredibly foolish was it for Gideon to ever think 300 soldiers could face the hoards of Midian?

Father, I am faced today with my religious faith versus God-pleasing faith. May I be found in God-pleasing faith even if it means "foolishly" rejecting man's inventions. So be it.