Stepping Out in Faith
In order for you to make a move, for you to step out in faith, do you need certainty that God will work on your behalf and that things are going to work out in your favor, or is it enough to know that God can?
Read the previous post for more…
In 1 Samuel 14, King Saul is afraid. Because he’s paralyzed by fear, he’s not willing to move from the shade of the pomegranate tree. He’s not leading the people of God as a faithful leader empowered by the Spirit of God. He’s leading with a spirit of FEAR.
Meanwhile, his son Jonathan who has no real authority, who doesn’t get permission, makes a move that requires tremendous faith in the face of certain fear.
Come on, Let’s go!
Here’s how the story unfolds….
One day Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come on, let’s go over to where the Philistines have their outpost.” But Jonathan did not tell his father what he was doing.
No one realized that Jonathan had left the Israelite camp. To reach the Philistine outpost, Jonathan had to go down between two rocky cliffs that were called Bozez and Seneh. The cliff on the north was in front of Micmash, and the one on the south was in front of Geba. “Let’s go across to the outpost of those pagans,” Jonathan said to his armor bearer. – 1 Samuel 14.1-6
Now there’s a lot here for Jonathan to be afraid of. He’s going out on his own. He’s left the 600 military men camped out in the shade of the pomegranate tree. The only person he takes with him is his armor bearer who doesn’t have a weapon and may or may not be a trained fighter.
Not only that, the terrain is against him. The rocky cliffs and steep climb up to where the Philistines are put the two of them at a distinct disadvantage. They don’t have the high ground. They don’t have an easy way up.
Everything is against them. Conventional wisdom says, “Don’t do it!”
Perhaps the Lord…
But listen to the words of Jonathan to his armor bearer. He says…
“Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!”
Perhaps? That sounds like a pretty solid MAYBE! There’s at best a 50/50 chance here that if we scale the cliffs, if we approach the army of the Philistines with 2 men and 1 weapon, that our God will deliver the battle into our hands.
I don’t know about you, but I think the odds are substantially LOWER!!
But here’s what I want us to see…
Jonathan’s faith isn’t based on CERTAINTY that God WILL, only that God CAN.
So many times we want for CERTAINTY. We pray for CERTAINTY. But God isn’t calling us to certainty, He is calling us to FAITH. And not just faith, but FAITHFUL ACTION.
Recovering Faith
I wonder if we need to recover this kind of faith. The kind of faith that says, I don’t know if God will, but I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that God can!
I think what’s happened for so many people is that in order for God to be credible he has to first prove himself to us as credible by doing what we want and what we think he should do.
BUT… When did God being credible as God become dependent on Him doing exactly what we want?
Is it enough for you to know that God can? And to know that perhaps He will? Is He any less God if and when he doesn’t?
I love the response of the armor bearer…
“Do what you think is best,” the armor bearer replied. “I’m with you completely, whatever you decide.” – 1 Samuel 14.7
The armor bearer is ALL-IN!
Personally, I think we need more people like this. We need people who tell our spiritual leaders, I’m with you completely. Whatever you decide! No matter the odds or the difficulty. Regardless of my personal preferences. No matter what happens. We may succeed or we may fail. But, I’m with you.
We Are Not Alone
Jonathan and his armor bearer climb the cliffs and God helps them defeat 20 Philistine soldiers that day. And that’s just the beginning of what happens. You can read the rest of the story for yourself.
The same God who helped Jonathan and his armor bearer who were at a severe disadvantage strike down 20 Philistine soldiers now strikes the earth with an earthquake. If there was any doubt that the God of Heaven’s armies was with Jonathan and his armor bearer, they now knew they were NOT ALONE!
“Perhaps the Lord will help us…”
Yes, perhaps He will! And He did!
What if we did this?
Have you ever thought about what God might do through you if you decided to do something? To make a difference for others?
Here’s what I believe is true. You were created to be bold, to be brave, and to make a difference.
God wants you to know that He is with you. And to know that He wants to use you in this world to make a difference in the lives of others for their good and for His glory!
So what if we did this? What if we gave our lives to making a difference in the lives of others?
If we did, I think we would look a lot like Jesus. In fact, we may never look more like Jesus than when we lay down our lives to serve others. After all, it was Jesus who loved us so much that He laid down His life for us.
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