I'll like to share with you something i've learnt from my devotional in Judges 7 about God's unexpected wisdom

It's the story of Gideon leading a revolt against the Midianites after God called him a mighty warrior at the wine press.

Just before the battle, God told Gideon that he had too many soldiers.

Victory against the Midianites wasn't the goal; God's victory was.

It's interesting how we can be entirely on God's side and still be in conflict with Him.
All throughout the Bible, faithful men and women who have given themselves to God are striving to be strong for Him. Meanwhile, God offers us weakness, desiring to be strong in us
We both want strength. We want ours to glorify Him; He wants His to glorify Himself. We who live for His glory better get used to a strange dynamics: It's our insufficiency that brings Him praise.

Our efforts on His behalf seems so godly. They have pure motives, an element of faith, His agenda in mind, and an abundance of human wisdom behind them.
There's nothing wrong with the pure motives, the faith, or the agenda. It's the human wisdom that trips us up.

God wants us to be used for His purposes even more than we do, but His means are radically different. For His glory to be demonstrated, human glory as to be minimized. We can't earn honour and then give it to God.

We can only submit to Him and let Him display His honour.
In this vision-impaired world, we have to be visibly low for God to be visibly high.

The counterintuitive wisdom of God is only learnt through many years and painful experiences. We don't like our weaknesses, and we want God to make us strong. But, as Paul reminds us centuries after Gideon, we are to be strong 'in His mighty power'. (Eph 6:10)

If God doesn't take the lead in our lives and win our victories on His own terms, there's a muddled picture of glory.
Is it His or ours?

Understand His purposes. Let your vulnerability be the occasion for His power.