Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side. Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Judges‬ ‭6‬:‭3‬-‭5‬
Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it.‭‭
Judges‬ ‭7‬:‭19‬-‭22‬
Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.

Some longer passages today. I want to focus on how God delivers us. Though I have not yet been in a situation of war or oppression where my life was threatened, I have been in times where it seems that many bad circumstances are happening at the same time. It can be a little bit overwhelming and requires the right perspective to navigate it.

This perspective is to seek out God more often and ask him for his wisdom and help. I must ask for his help to accomplish what he wants me to do and also to have the right attitude in moments when life is trying. I am here to be prepared for eternity in heaven with my Father. This world is a testing ground of sorts. And the Lord will reward me for being faithful to him, even when it is hard.

What does it look like to have so much confidence in God to walk with me and cover me, that I sleep soundly in the midst of my enemies? God is a God of the impossible. When Gideon was faced with an army who tents were described as locusts swarming a field it was so numerous, God cut his ranks from a few thousand to one hundred. He gave them a unique wartime strategy, to stand around the invaders and shine lights and blow horns. Then God made them respond in a crazy way.

God can make the largest army run away in fear from the smallest army. He wants me to experience his glory — to see his face — his presence in action. And he doesn’t want me to get proud and think I can do it all on my own.

Will I trust him, even against impossible odds? Will I be faithful when I don’t think I can make it through? Will I trust him to see me through? Will I cling to his promises?

Lord, thank you that you love me and seek to teach me to have faith in you at deeper and deeper levels. Your word is so great! I want faith to motivate me and propel me to greatness in you. Teach me Father!