“Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his
armor, ‘Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it
may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.’ So his armorbearer said to him, ‘Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.'”
Are you so afraid of failure because you believe God only directs men into “successful” situations? Do you fear stepping out to ask the bold question, to dare the words of love, to do the ludricous thing, because you are unsure of winning the answer, the other heart, or the prize? Is it the other person or yourself that you fear? Do you fear even your own desires, O saint? And are you using half-hearted prayers seeking “guidance” as a mask for your lack of faith in doing?
How many failures we have seen among the lives of biblical men and women, and yet God maintains His glory, His throne, His love. Is this a license for foolishness among God’s people? Surely not! But we must have a greater, grander view of God’s grace, and even of the grace among His people! Do other believers demand all answers and perfection from you? They should not, lest they forget the grace which also purchased them. The same honesty which requires that we sometimes speak the difficult things or confess the hard hurts and loves, is that honesty which compels every man in this prayer: “God, have mercy on me, a poor sinner.” The poor in spirit are most honest. The poor in spirit may, in this life, lose out for the sake of that honesty, or may be damaged by their own truth-telling. But grace and deep affection are not lost or injured for the losing–neither the love of God in Christ Jesus nor the love of the fellow faithful are diminished!
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?…No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!” Have you become convinced that moving forward into an unknown will separate you from His love? The doubt which may accompany many great steps of faith is not sinful; faith itself both includes and overwhelms doubt. But we have promises beyond the small steps and assurances which no small doubtful, daring venture can drown. Therefore, walk bold, Christian! Who knows? It may be that the Lord will work for you, for He is not hindered by many or by few…
p.s. I’m including today’s ESV Verse of the Day:
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings
good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who
publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” (Isaiah 52:7, ESV)
In our age of blogs and personal publishing tools, I enjoy the use of “publish” in these verses. Let us broadcast peace and salvation (smile).
thegreatknock 
I do fear my own desires…but that is not where my doubt comes from…after so many years of hope deffered to put it in a softer way, the idea of my desires coming true is so foreign to me, I would say it is more from another planet than another country, figuratively speaking. And yes, the poor in spirit are more honest. And honesty and transparency do cost quite a bit and most often bring damage on the bearer of them. Trust me, I know first hand about this. My life experience has led me to believe that real honesty is one of the last things people really want from others. In the area of love, since you mentioned it, I really believe girls would rather have a declaration of love that was a lie but they did not know it was untrue from a more prototypical “guy” than a true declaration of love and intent from someone who is not prototypical…not what they had in mind. Like me. Which is why I pursue so few of them in any earnest manner.Or step out in faith about these things. Can’t speak for everybody else, though.
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I begin to hear echoes of Spurgeon. I love how Jonathan says, “…it may be that the Lord will work for us.” And not even knowing how it would go, he still trusted that God was in control. Whether God worked FOR them or not, he was still God.
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Hello, David! It was good to hear from you! Although I don’t often leave notes on Xanga, I *do* keep up with several of Matthew’s compatriots – *you* included! You frequently give me something to think about and I appreciate that.
Isn’t it wonderful to know that we *can* take that step into the unknown, knowing *one* thing – that He is there with us – no matter what, no matter where, no matter how things may turn out.
Yes, the Lord *does* work for us; however, we may perceive His workings – pro or con. And He will be faithful to complete it.
Stop by the house sometime, David, whenever you’re down our way. We’d love to see you!
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oh jedi master, you bring great clarity to such issues and i thank you for you honesty and guideance, it’s not about us and our insecurities and fears, its about what God can do if we let him.
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HAHAHA. now that was funny. : )
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