What’s Your 300? by Susan Tuttle

Susan Tuttle

I love the story of Gideon. I love that he was not only from the weakest clan, but the least of his own family too. And that God used him in such a huge way. I often think about this as I approach the calling of writing on my life.

See, the publishing world is huge. It has its own way of working. It feels like an enormous mountain sitting in the middle of our little paths. And it offers plenty of advice on how to scale it. Today, most of that info centers on building a platform.

Now, I’m not about to say building a platform is not important. What I do want to say is, have you talked to God about it? Let’s go back to Gideon for just a moment. God took this man from the smallest clan and asked him to lead a nation. Gideon gathered 32,000 men because, well, that’s how he thought to win the battle in front of him. But God had other plans. He whittled the 32,000 down to 300.

Didn’t seem logical in the least sense at all.

But God isn’t about logical. He’s about his glory being seen, and he will not allow anyone to touch it.

So back to our platforms. We hear a lot about them. What social media sites to be on. How many followers to gather. How often to post. It can start to mirror those 32,000 troops Gideon thought he needed to gather, and it can begin to consume our thoughts. “If I just reach this many followers, likes, tweets, or jump this high in Google standings….” Go ahead, you fill in the blank.

It’s not that those things are wrong. The 32,000 troops weren’t bad. They simply weren’t how God planned to deliver victory for Gideon. No. To do that God wanted only 300, so that when the victory was handed to Israel they couldn’t mistake it as anything other than by God’s hand.

And he wants to do the same with you. Whatever calling he’s placed on your life (for most of us here, it’s writing), he has a path for your purpose and plan. It’s a path that leads to his glory being shown through you. It’s a path you’ll only find by following his lead. Prepare and grow while you’re on it, yes. But don’t get ahead of him. Don’t gather more than what he wants you to use. Seek his counsel before every step, and then follow it—even if it seems a little crazy. God’s crazy is better than the world’s craziness any day. His comes with peace and assurance. The world’s keeps us chasing our tails and brings insecurity.

So I ask you, what’s your 300? Have you allowed God to whittle you down to that number, or are you still trying to build up your 32,000 because that’s what the world says you need? If so, remember, God took the Gideon, the least of the clans, the smallest of his family, and gave him 300 men to battle 135,000…and they won.

If he can do it for Gideon, he can do it for you.

About Susan:
Susan Tuttle is a homeschooling mom of three who is crazy about coffee, dark chocolate, and words—both reading and writing them. Combine that love of words with her passion for leading women to a life-changing encounter with Christ, and you’ll find her crafting Inspirational Contemporary Romance stories laced with humor, love, and healing transformations. When not cheering on her Ironman hubby, chasing the family dog, or tackling complex math problems to teach her kids (yes, even the third grader), you can catch Susan at her blog, Steps.