I Kings 20:23
‘Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the mountains; for that reason they were stronger than we. But let us fight them in the plain, and we will certainly be stronger than they.’
These are fears and suspicions that unbelievers have. I don’t belittle them, as we all can be prone to them. What they don’t know is that God is the all-powerful god. He doesn’t just rule and reign in a portion of life, but all of it. We don’t need to be fearful. Not because we are so wise, but because He is so great.
Many buildings don’t label the 13th floor by that name. People see that number as unlucky. That is succumbing to the same error in today’s passage. On Mars Hill, Paul saw many idols. One of them was labeled, “An Unknown God”. This was just in case they missed one.
We don’t need to be fearful of these kinds of superstitions. God is God and there is no other. Proverbs 28:1 says, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.” We can trust Him so that we are bold.
A simple sheep can walk confidently so that the Shepherd will keep them safe. The world sees complete vulnerability. Not so.
We aren’t to tempt God and put ourselves in risky situations. We don’t need to fear. Those outside of Christ don’t get it. I Cor 1:23 says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” The world mocks Christ and His followers. They don’t see Christ as another option, but foolishness.
In Matthew 5:22 says, “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.” Raca is to be empty headed. Granted, this verse is referring to anger and the things people say when angry. But the world sees believers as raca, empty headed.
What happened to make smart people to say such a thing about followers of the true God? Romans 1:21 says, “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened.” This is it. They’ve rejected God and their reasoning got distorted.
2 Thessalonians 2:10,11 says something similar, “and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not accept the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false”. They didn’t accept the love of the truth, so a deluding influence came over them.
Walking with Christ is meant to be so simple, that a child can do it. I’ve heard it said, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” This doesn’t mean we avoid reasoning with people, but in our own walk of faith, we believe.
God delights in helping those that are childlike. Jesus said in Matthew 17:20, ““Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” We don’t need great faith. It can be small. The difference is that God is great. We don’t need great faith.
God will give us enough if we trust Him. It doen’t matter how complicated the situation is, He will give us enough. We do have to do our part and obey Him. He wants us to walk with Him, read the bible, go to church, share His good news, and so on. It might seem like a lot, but He helps.
Lord, thank You for saving us. You have given us a love of the truth. You’ve also given us enough faith. The world sees us as fools, but we are beloved in God’s sight. Thank You.`