The Israelites failed the conquest when they entered into the land of the Canaanites. When they entered the promised land they had judges rule the people. Gideon was the fifth judge and was considered a warrior hero. When an angel approached Gideon, Gideon replied: “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” (Judges 6:13 ESV). The Lord turned to Gideon and replied, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” (vs. 14).
Gideon said that he belongs to the weakest clan in Manasseh and he was the least in his father’s house. God replied, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man” (vs. 16). Gideon asked for a sign and God granted the sign. Gideon began with 32,000 men ready for battle but God said he had too many men, otherwise the Israelites might boast and say, “My own hand has saved me” (7:2). God eventually dwindled that number down to 300 men who would defeat the Midianites.
In the end, Gideon’s 300 men defeated thousands of the Midianites. This story is not entirely unique. God constantly uses weak, poor, and remnants of people to accomplish huge feats. When Paul said that he was straining toward the goal, he never assumed the path would be easy. In fact, it was the exact opposite. But Paul trusted God that, so long as Paul remained faithful, He would do the heavy lifting and bless many people. And that’s exactly what God did.