Friday 20th October
That first step of faith
The last devotional this week sees how the Philistines have started to panic due to the actions of Jonathan and his armour bearer. They have lost all decorum and strategy through the actions of two people.
When Saul realises who has caused the issue, and that his own son is missing, he calls for the ephod (a garment worn by the priest) to be bought to him. With confusion and hysteria still occurring, again Saul is seen trying to rush things and not completing the religious rituals correctly. In this instance the high priest would’ve used small items from within the pockets of the ephod to determine God’s will. Saul was impatient and wouldn’t wait for this, instead choosing to get out onto the battlefield.
It seems as Saul has grown in years and ruled for a long time, he has lost sight of who he should be asking for guidance from. We looked earlier this week at how Saul’s own pride clouded his judgement. His impatience also shows us that he wasn’t willing to wait for God’s will into the situation. Saul’s weakness in being able to wait meant he lost sight of God’s intentions for him.
I can imagine what a sight met Saul when he looked out and saw Philistines attacking each other and groups of men who had sworn allegiance to the Philistines now back tracking and joining the Israelites. Those who had run and hidden through fear had now come out to help again.
It is easy to rejoin a battle you now feel may be won easily and to change allegiance to the side you believe will win. The hardest thing is to make the first step not knowing what the outcome will be, and merely taking the leap of faith in God. Jonathan and his armour bearer’s actions resulted in Israel being saved. It may not have seemed much, but the ripple effect it had was detrimental.
Time to reflect…
1. After reading these passages, we can see how Saul’s impatience nearly ended in devastation for the Israelite army, and how Jonathan’s faith helped save it. Let’s reflect on this and try to think of ways in which our own impatience could have a detrimental effect in our lives and what we could do in order to stop this from happening.
Pause for prayer
Heavenly Father, I pray to you for patience within my life. I know that when things get hectic or seem to spiral, I don’t have to make decisions on my own and that You are there. Help me to slow down and remember You are in control of all situations. Help me to always remember to have patience in Your timing and to have the courage needed to follow Your lead. Amen.
