Gideon's Army- and Forgetting the Lord

In Sunday School, the lesson in many wards today was about Gideon and Samson of the Old Testament. There are important principles to be learned from both stories.

Gideon led an army of 300 to defeat a much grander enemy army. If you took seminary the year they taught the Old Testament (if you didn't, never fear! They're offering it again not next year but the next), you'll know that the Lord insisted Gideon lead a small army, so that when they won, there could be no question of whether or not the victory was miraculous, for it would be virtually impossible for them to win of their own strength. It makes me wonder though, how much of what I consider to be my "accomplishments" are actually His accomplishments. Scholastic accomplishments, perhaps? I use the term "accomplishments" loosely, as I don't have any true scholastic accomplishments. But I digress. A year ago, I took the AP Spanish test for the first time. I was not expecting to pass. You see, the entire year before, my AP Spanish teacher had been telling me that my Spanish wasn't good enough to pass. I didn't speak Spanish. I didn't even have a vague understanding of the language, after 4 years of studying it. What I did have was a father who insisted I take the test, not because he thought I would pass, but because it would have been cowardice not to try. He was right, I think, and I did learn considerably from that experience. Again, I digress. I also had a Spanish teacher with the best of intentions but not very much to show for them. He also reccommended I take the test, if only to be prepared to take it again in a year and hopefully pass.

When the day of the test came, I did not miraculously speak Spanish. I didn't know any more at 7:00 AM that day than I had at 10:00 PM the night before. Despite my attempts to prepare, which were, honestly, half-hearted at best, I did not have any intention of passing the test I was about to take. I prayed harder that morning than most any other time in my life until that point, as there are no atheists in the testing room. I begged my Father in Heaven to help me calm down, to do my very best, and to use adequately what little Spanish I did know. The test came and went, and lo and behold, I passed! I considered this a major accomplishment, as AP Spanish is frequently considered one of the most difficult AP tests- not necessarily because of what is on the test, but because of who takes the test- native Spanish speakers, included on a curve with those who could never hope to attain native proficiency. But could I have done that alone? Without the prayer I said that morning, the faith and trust I put in the Lord as I took the test, and the prayers I'd said throughout the course, begging for help, would I have done as well? I sincerely doubt it. And yet, I frequently forget to credit the Lord with my "miraculous pass". Instead, I take this tremendous blessing and allow it to fuel my own pride. I have this problem in every aspect of my life. When things go well, I frequently forget to praise the One who allowed it to happen, and I am quick to believe that it occurred through my own strength, my own intelligence, my own ability, whatever. How can I forget?

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy Courts above.