At the time of this event, the visible facts and reality are given to us:

-no weapons in Israel except for King Saul and Jonathan

-Philistines have been intimidating the Israelites, and controlling the blacksmiths(no weapon manufacturing)

Given these circumstances, it really is not the time to be picking a fight! I would imagine that consolidating and low profile to be the order of the day.

But Jonathan does not let what he sees dictate what he does! He obviously has faith in God to actually conquer his enemies. He does not wait or hide, but strategizes based on what God can do.

Many of our plans are based on what we can do and what we see. So the result: we have small plans that have escape strategies and that are not reflective of Heaven but of our earth!

It is very difficult then to have the strategy of Jonathan if we are doubtful of our God and His ability!

God does want to give us victories!

God is for us!

God does want to give us Kingdom advancement!

My conclusion is that without faith, it s impossible to please God and that we are called to live by faith.

Faith in the finished work of Jesus.

Faith in the New Covenant of grace.

Faith in the righteousness of Jesus.

Faith in the unconditional love of God towards us.

So my and your actions will flow from what we believe….I believe that the devil has been defeated and that what Jesus did 2000 years ago is enough forever for me. So now I do want to extend His Kingdom and destroy strongholds around me.

Let us be bold and courageous in the Love of God, He is for us not against us and He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ!

Lets pick some fights!

Jonathan says in verse 6, “come let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.”

I love the courage and boldness of Jonathan. It seems to come from knowing that God is for him and against his enemies. So, he says lets go across and see if we get a victory. God does not need ‘many’, because with Him all things are possible. So with this encouraging story of faith, we are starting a meeting in Parys as of Sunday the 18th of March. My wife, Jen, shared this scripture and it really does capture our motivation for going to Parys at a time like this. We feel that God can do a great work by few through us in this town. Often when we go through a tough time, we want to retreat and minimize!

This is exactly the time to trust that God can save by few! So we go across to Parys believing that people are going to get saved, God’s Kingdom is going to be released and that freedom will reign over our lives.

If there are some garrisons wanting to intimidate you i your life….Trust God for victory so that His kingdom will be extended where the enemy has been occupying!