Is success what I most need?

In Judges 7, the Israeli leader Gideon led a pretty substantial army of 32,000 men off to war against the Midianites. But God told him this was too many. So he made one cut down to 10,000 men. But God told him this was still too many. So he made another drastic cut down to 300 men. Not much of an army at this point, really. Nevertheless, by employing a God-given strategy based on a prophetic dream, they routed the opposing force.

God even explained why He did this. See, a larger army might have looked like a purely natural victory, but such a tiny army could only have won by God’s help and therefore only such an impossible victory would clearly glorify Him. So the gift to Gideon, his men, and all of Israel was the vivid reminder that having God on your side is always enough. He knew they needed this lesson even more than they needed a military victory.

But two questions for us remain. First, which makes me feel more comfortable: having God’s promise of victory or having a large army? And second, do I want God to be glorified at least as badly as I want that victory?