I Samuel 14:6
‘Jonathon said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.”‘
What a courageous, full of faith idea. He’s right, God could save by many or few. In the normal circumstance, we go with the army, but if we are against a wall, then God could save us with miraculous circumstances.
Normally I would say this is testing God. I think of When Satan was tempting Jesus. He told the Lord to throw Himself off a cliff for the angels would catch Him. “Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST’”, (Matthew 4:7).
I like that Jonathon was thinking this way. The thought entered his mind and he verbalized it. I wonder if the Lord inspired him or if he brought it up? Many times in the gospels we see Jesus impressed with people’s faith. An army officer asked for his child to be healed. When Jesus agreed to go with him, here was the response. ‘“Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. “For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel”‘, (Matthew 8:8-10).
The Lord is honored when we step out and try things like this. They rarely go as we would have hoped, but the Lord uses those circumstances. We don’t often see the fruit, but the Lord uses those planted seeds. We need to pray for a crop.
There is a hint of recklessness in living this way. I mean that in a positive sense. It’s a great compliment to be seen as one who seeks to advance the kingdom this way. It’s a littles scary. There is the balance of testing God and stepping out in faith. It’s best to pray about these impressions and to get the advice of others. The Lord may open doors. If so, we proceed. Other times we see them close. The Lord also speaks through others. They can represent the closed or open doors.
Our attitude needs to be open. Sometimes we are guarded. We want things to go a certain way. If such a thought arises at an opportunity, we toss up a prayer, “Lord, is this of You?” Fear can close us off. Knowing that the Lord never wants to embarrass us is good to know. Psalm 23 comes to minds, “He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies.” He wants to promote us, rather than to bring shame.
Lord, help us not to be fearful. But to wonder and to ask. Thank You that You lead us in these ways. Help us to be brave and try to advance Your kingdom.