Sunday, July 31, 2011

When God is Behind Us

In my Bible reading today, 1 Samuel 14:1-14, I read about Jonathon, son of Saul.  He had such faith in God that without his father's knowledge, he and his armor-bearer went to the Philistine camp.  He told his armor-bearer that if the Philistines told him to stay where he was that he would, but if they said to come up to the camp, he would go up to them and defeat them.  Jonathon was such a fabulous person that his armor-bearer said, "Do all that you have in mind. Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.”  What kind of loyalty is that?  Awesome loyalty.  One single man told another single man that he would essentially walk to his death for him, he had that much trust and faith in Jonathon.  Jonathon had that much faith and trust in God. 

That is an awesome picture.  But what struck me most of all is the verse following Jonathon's defeat of the Philistines (and oh yes, he gave them defeat).  After Jonathon went up and defeated the Philistines, verse 15 says, "Then panic struck the whole army—those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts and raiding parties—and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God."  Jonathon did as God told him and he defeated the enemy.  Then God caused the enemy to panic.  Then God sent an earthquake. 

That is so true for us even today.  When we are following God's will in our lives, when we seek him for His truth and His way, he can help us defeat our enemy.  He can cause our enemy to panic.  And while we may not literally feel the cold, hard ground shake as they did the day Jonathon defeated the Philistines, it doesn't mean he isn't sending an earthquake.  He may be shaking up the enemy in other ways.  God is behind us when we follow His will.  "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).  

No comments:

Post a Comment