Who are your 300?
Updated: Apr 22, 2021
As a young girl, I had many friends, and I would come home from school and eagerly tell my parents and sibling about my day and what I did with my friends. As the years rolled by, my relationships began to dwindle, and I wondered why I had fewer friends than my younger self. When I took the bold step of starting a business, my friendships reduced drastically, and I became a handful. This change dampened my hopes, and I began to find myself wondering if I had made the wrong step by starting a business.
The choice of starting a business and resolving to continue building a business is very personal, and the majority of entrepreneurs know from a young age that they will start a business at a later stage or start many more as time goes by. The entrepreneurial journey is lonesome, and we can find ourselves struggling to maintain friendships or relationships because they do not understand our resolve to build a business.
The story of Gideon came to my mind. When he faced the call to deliver Israel from the Midianites. Gideon minded his own business, beating wheat in the winepress because he had to hide and save it from the Midianites. Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him to save Israel from the hand of Midian. Gideon is shocked that God could choose him but eventually, he obeys, and he sets out to attack Midian with 32,000 men. (Judges 6-7)
I can only imagine Gideon thinking that he has the right number of people to fight against the Midianites. However, God says
“The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.” (Judges 7: 2-3, NKJV)
Gideon watches the troop dwindle in size, yet God continues to tell him that there are still too many people. A test is done to select the men, and those who lapped water were 300, and these men were to proceed with Gideon.
Therefore, are you willing to let God choose your 300? Are you willing to let God choose your tribe? Even if you see people leaving your life, friendships ending or team members quitting along the way? It can be challenging to watch the people around you reduce to a handful but imagine what you could accomplish by allowing God to choose your 300. Like Gideon, the Midianites were destroyed, and Israel was delivered.
Our businesses can only reach greater heights if we let God be God in our lives and businesses. He knows who is best for us. He knows who will contribute to the business honestly and wholeheartedly. He knows who will stand by you when the storms of life come your way. So, the next time you see a person leave your life, remember Gideon and his 300.