DAY 4
Jonathan is known for two things; being the son of King Saul, and being best friends with the future King David. It must have been tough, always living in the shadow of his father. Feeling torn between loyalty to his family and loyalty to David. The Bible paints a picture of a righteous young man that loved God and was sincere in his faith. He was, however, as human as you or I. I'm sure the inability to make his own mark on the world frustrated him. While every other day of his life had revolved around someone else, today was going to be different.
He woke up next to his armor bearer that day, not far from the enemy line, and had a famous revelation. "The Lord can save by many or by few!" Based on this faith alone they both silently traversed the rocky crags and crept close to the enemy garrison. Here they paused to seek some direction from the Lord. If the Philistines saw them and called them up to fight, God was telling them he had delivered the enemy into their hands. Sure enough, that's exactly what the Philistines did. Based on that litmus test alone, they went up and won the victory. Just the two of them killed twenty but God soon sent an earthquake that further caused chaos in the enemy ranks. Then the Philistines began to fight each other. When it was all said and done, tens of thousands of the enemy lay dead.
Notice the order of action here. First, they act on faith. THEN God gave them direction. When they act on that direction, God gives them one of the greatest victories in Israelite history! All of this started with one young man who was tired of the status quo and acted on his faith.
Questions:
What things have you allowed to build a garrison in your life?
How long will you let it stay there before you get sick enough of it to tear it down?
What could you be doing for God today that you're not doing?
What is something that you should do, that you could do, that you're simply not doing?
Read:
Great victories begin as small acts of faith. Perhaps these days of prayer and fasting are the first time you've done that in a while. That's ok! That's how it starts. It ALWAYS starts small. Just a few minutes of prayer and reading the Word. Just a few days of fasting. You've got this!
Act on your faith. Listen to the voice of God, and watch Him hand you victory!
