The old saying goes, “adversity builds character.” As I have stated multiple times publicly, I believe that statement is wrong. I don’t think that adversity builds character; instead, I believe it reveals our character. Not only does it reveal our character, but I believe that adversity is what God uses to reveal who our faith is in. We get to see that in today’s text for Blogging Through The Bible In 2020.
Saul is fairly early into his reign as king in Israel. While at first Saul was shy and timid, revealing some humility when he was appointed king over Israel, that is about to change. As we see all too often, power changes people, or maybe it just reveals who they truly are. Either way, it is not a good thing for Saul. The Philistines had drawn battle lines with the Israelites. Saul and the Israelites were afraid of the size of the Philistine army. In his fear, Saul didn’t trust God, and we see the beginning of the end of his reign as king over Israel. As a contrast to his father, we see Saul’s son, Jonathan, demonstrate his faith and trust in God. 1 Samuel 14:6 says, “then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, ‘come, let us go 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.'” Jonathan knew that any victory that Israel experienced was because of the power of God, not by the strength of Israel.
In this story we see some important truths for today. We must learn to keep our eyes on Jesus. Part of keeping our eyes on Jesus is remembering His faithfulness to us in the past. As I remember what God has done on my behalf in the past, my faith will be strengthened in my present circumstances. Another important lesson for us is that we must learn to trust in God’s timing. Saul had sinned by making himself a priest, because the actual priest was a few minutes late. The longer COVID-19 is going on, the more I’m starting to see people on social media profess doubt about the love, power, and presence of God. They say things such as, “If God is a God of love, why did He allow COVID-19 to get this bad.” Or I have even seen one person say, “If God is so powerful that He could snap His fingers and rid the world of COVID-19, why hasn’t He done so yet? Maybe He isn’t powerful, maybe He isn’t even there.” From a human standpoint, I get it. Many of us have grown up in church hearing sermons and stories about how much God loves the world and how powerful He is, and that He is always with us. Yet, when we look out at the world, it is hard to wrap our minds around it, and reconcile what we see with what we have been taught. Yet, I would argue it is precisely these types of times that we must have an unwavering commitment to God and His Word. This is precisely the time that we need to remember that He is God and that we are not. We only know what we know, yet there isn’t anything that God doesn’t know. Think back to being a child. Did you always understand every decision that your parents made for you? My guess is probably not. However, did those decisions work out for the best? In an overwhelming majority of the time for the majority of us the answer to that question is yes they did. This is why Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more so does your heavenly Father know how to give good gifts?” Right now, we are too close to the situation. We are still in the middle of the trial of COVID-19. Whether we want to admit it or not, this makes is nearly impossible for us to rightly think about our situation. We are still being reactionary. In many cases, we have gone from the fearful state to the wanting to assign blame state. Yet, I firmly believe that once this is all over, and many things have changed, we will look back on this as a tremendous blessing in disguise. Again, I don’t expect you to believe me right now, because we are still firmly in the trenches with this situation. But let’s give it some time, and see what truly comes out of this. I really believe we will be surprised. And this brings us back to trusting God’s timing. God is love, He is holy, and just. While we might think He is late, God is always on time according to His perfect plan. Therefore, we need to remember that when we can’t see the hand of God moving or understand His plan, we must trust His character. Don’t let this moment of turmoil sidetrack or shipwreck your faith. Instead, get on you knees to pray, and keep reading God’s Word to remind yourself of His goodness, His faithfulness, and His love.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin