I Samuel 14:22
“When all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, even they also pursued them closely in the battle.”
This is a great verse. It’s exciting to see the results of obedience. Jonathon and his fellow soldier stepped out in faith. The Lord responded with confusion in the enemies camp. The advantage was taken by Israel and the enemy fled. This caused the terrified members of Saul’s army to come out of hiding and join the attack.
This is a great example of the body of Christ influencing one other. There are always ones going through tough times. It’s not always the same people. We all take turns going through valleys.
Jesus had a special place in His heart for those at the bottom. Here are some biblical descriptions about them, “least of these” (Matthew 25:40), other times he spoke of the “faint of heart” (I Thessalonians 5:14), another place He called them “weary and heavy laden” (Matthew 11:28). While we are all on God’s heart, He especially sees us when we are down.
The Lord can encourage us through the body of Christ. Today’s verse is a great example. Hebrews 13:3 says, ‘But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.’ I like the reference to today. Meaning, it may be late in the day, but it’s not too late to encourage someone.
Today’s passage is a heroic event that went down in history. The Lord may use one of us in a big way. However, most of life is made up of the small ways that we love one another. Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.” We will encounter many opportunities to help as we go through days, we are to help where we can.
The book of James often speaks of how our works demonstrates our faith. This is the christian experience. We are to love and serve each other as we live out our days. We also adopt ministries that tend to match our gifts and passions. It’s part of the mature christian’s life to have a ministry in which they give regularly of ourselves. Saddleback Church has class 301 which has a survey which identifies a person’s gifts and passions. They also have a follow meeting which lets people see which ministries are at the church and community which align with those talents.
Lord, thank You that You encourage us by each others actions and faith. Help us to step up and walk in that manner.