The LORD has given the victory into your hands

Last fall, my friend invited me to join her in a community Bible study group. It was so refreshing to participate in Bible study with women of all ages, backgrounds, and styles, yet united in heart with a desire to know the only true God and the one whom he sent, Jesus Christ (John 17:3). I was hesitant to join the Bible study group for different reasons. I resisted the idea that I should join simply for the connections I could add to my network of potential "supporters".  However, my decision came down to a prompting I believe the Spirit gave me to recognize that this may be one way God is answering my prayers. I have been praying that God would lead David and I to share our ministry with the people he has chosen to support us, prayerfully and financially.  I felt if I walked away from the opportunity God clearly was offering me, could I ask him for another (perhaps less blatant) option?
My participation in this Bible study primarily blessed me because it turned my mind toward a book of the Bible I don't often investigate. The group studied the books Joshua through 2 Samuel, but the book that captured my interest was Judges. In the back of my mind, I wondered how on earth this book would bear fruit in my walk with God right now. It has been an amazing discovery. This year David and I have been reading through the Bible in chronological order. Once again, we are reading Judges. Every section of the book reminded me of God's sovereign ability to hand victory to whomever he chooses. When discipline is required because the Israelites have disobeyed his covenant, God gives a foreign nation control over his people.  The Israelites' disobedience is so cyclical (and depressing) that it offers repeated occasion for God to demonstrate his power and control over the situation. Time after time, God raises up a man or woman to deliver Israel from their oppressors. Each situation proves how little the Israelites' freedom depended on their human deliverer. No, "The LORD has given the [fill in the blank with a variety of enemies] into your hands". These judges or deliverers are not impressive to me. The only credibility they have is the Spirit of the Lord that comes upon them to empower them to do God's will.
Like the war heroes and failed leaders of the book of Judges, I have been chosen by God: to be his child, experience his power, and do his will. Still, God's love and faithfulness is not demonstrated to me because of who I am. I am no more worthy, more obedient, more faithful, more sanctified than any other person. I have a choice to live worthy of my calling (Eph 4:1) and to demonstrate my love for my Father through my obedience (1 John 2).  But, God chose me simply because he wanted to and he will be glorified when victory is gained through my obedience.
I love the phrase that repeats itself in Judges 7 as Gideon steels himself and his army of 300 men (again only those whom God chose) to join in battle with thousands of enemy warriors. "The LORD has given the [fill in the blank with a variety of enemies] into your hands".  They went into battle so aware that God was the only one capable of turning this battle in their favor. In fact, the deliverers God raises up in these historical accounts all speak of the victory as already having happened. "The LORD has given the [fill in the blank with a variety of enemies] into your hands".
The LORD has given the enemy into your hands. Jesus already defeated sin, death, Satan and his armies. The victory is accomplished; God's will is as certain to happen as if it is over and done already. The victory does not depend on my might, my strength, my faith, my leadership skills, my obedience, or my power but on my all-sufficient, all-powerful God. Praise the LORD!