THE MYSTERY OF DIVINE TRIMMING

THE MYSTERY OF DIVINE TRIMMING

TOPIC: THE MYSTERY OF DIVINE TRIMMING
TEXT: Judges 7:2 – “The Lord said to Gideon, ‘The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, “My own hand has saved me.”’”
REFERENCES: Isaiah 10:13, Ephesians 2:9, Zechariah 4:6

MESSAGE

Are you wondering why God seems to be cutting things out of your life? Why friends you trusted suddenly walk away? Why your money runs low just when you need it? Why helpers disappear, opportunities vanish, or strength fails when you feel you need it most?

Listen, child of God—it is not always Satan. It is not always bad luck. And sometimes, you are fasting and praying against what is not even the enemy’s work. Many times, it is God Himself trimming you down. Why? So that when the victory comes, you will know it was not your power, not your money, not your connections—but God alone!

Look at Gideon in our scripture. He gathered 32,000 men to face the Midianites. From a human angle, that was already small compared to the vast army of the enemy. But what did God say? “Gideon, they are too many for me.” Too many? How can few soldiers be too many? But God explained: “If I allow Israel to fight like this, they will boast and say, ‘My own hand has saved me.’”

So God began trimming. First, 22,000 left. Then another 9,700 were removed. At last, only 300 remained. But with those 300, Gideon defeated a whole nation. Why? Because the battle was never about numbers; it was about God’s glory.

This is the mystery of divine trimming. God cuts away what you think you need, so your trust is not in the multitude but in Him. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:9, “It is not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” And again, in Zechariah 4:6, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord.”

Hear me: you don’t need a multitude to have faith in God. Your confidence is not in how many people stand with you, but in the God who stands behind you. If your faith depends on numbers, you will collapse the day the crowd leaves. That’s why God trims you—to teach you to stand on Him alone.

And listen again: God can use the smallest thing, even nothing, to bring glory to Himself. He used Gideon’s 300. He used David’s five stones against Goliath. He used a little boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fish to feed five thousand. Don’t despise the little left in your hand. God specializes in taking small things and making them great.

But God also trims to expose the boast in man. Isaiah 10:13 says man likes to say, “By the strength of my hand I have done it.” That pride is dangerous, because God will not share His glory. So when He cuts you down, when the helpers are gone, when the account is empty, when the strength is gone, then you will look up and say, “If not for the Lord, I would not have made it.”

Child of God, maybe right now you feel trimmed. Your job is gone. Your health is failing. Your business is struggling. Your friends are not there anymore. Don’t be discouraged. This is not a setup for failure. It is a setup for testimony. God trims you to prepare you for a victory that no man can explain away. Gideon’s victory with 300 men could only be credited to God. Yours will be the same.

So don’t cry when people leave. Don’t panic when resources reduce. Don’t think God has abandoned you. This is the mystery of divine trimming—when less becomes more, when weakness becomes strength, when emptiness becomes testimony.

CONCLUSION & PRAYER

I pray for you today: may your eyes open to see when God is trimming you. May you never mistake His hand for the enemy’s. May every trimming in your life turn to a testimony that will give Him glory. And may your story, like Gideon’s, shout to the world: “This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:23).

In Jesus’ mighty name

Amen!