Sorry for the delay in the posting of this devotional. I was out of internet contact for most of last week. - Dan.
And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
! Samuel 17:37
Faith doesn’t look to present circumstances for its encouragement.
We looked in the last post at the truth that unbelief seeks to discourage faith in any way it can. Consequently, the exercise of faith often takes the form of a struggle against unbelief. But the struggle for faith doesn’t just require us to take a stand against unbelief in others. We often have to fight against our own unbelief. We all have a tendency to judge situations based upon the observable circumstances. And frankly, the situations in which faith is most needed are usually the ones in which the circumstances seem most foreboding. After all, if the circumstances seem favorable, what will provoke us to exercise faith in God? But when we are brought face to face with our own inadequacy and the poverty of our own resources, we are forced to turn to the Lord in faith. Scripture is full of such situations: building a boat when it has never rained, expecting a child when you’re too old to conceive, waiting for God to open a way through the sea, looking at a brass snake when you’re dying, winning a battle because Moses’ hands are in the air.
Each of these situations is related in the five books of Moses – David’s Bible. These recorded events no doubt helped to teach David about faith. And he learned these lessons well. He knew that God had committed Himself by covenant to the people of
David could have said, ‘You’re right, Saul, this is a bleak situation and I have no real hope of being able to succeed.’ The present situation offered little hope when considered from the natural perspective. But faith and unbelief (Calvin calls it “unfaith”) focus on different things. Saul was only considering the circumstances. But David’s faith considered the situation from a different perspective. It enabled him to see through the circumstances and focus on the God for whom nothing is impossible. There was, in fact, a “spiritual rationality” to David’s decision to fight Goliath.
What can David teach us about the exercise of faith? What did he draw upon for encouragement? First, David considered the challenge of Goliath through the lens of the past victories God had given him through faith. This is why he made such a big deal about the lion and the bear. Killing these predators was, in a sense, equally impossible for a boy to have accomplished. Yet, it appears that he had actually gone into these situations in faith, trusting that God would give him the victory. God had provided him with a training ground – experiences of divine provision that enabled David to trust God in this circumstance as well. This, by the way, is one of the main reasons why we experience such trials in our own lives. God is training us for bigger victories. He expects us to remember, to “treasure these tings in our hearts,” so that we will have a ‘faith fund’ to draw upon when called to face an impossible task. [Allow me to put in a plug for journaling – writing down your thoughts and also recording God’s provisions and answers to prayer. Such a spiritual diary will prove invaluable when you are facing the next call to faith.]
David was also encouraged by the knowledge that God had been with him in the past. This enabled him to believe that God was with him in the present. (See 17:37) David knew it had been the Lord who had delivered him in those previous situations. In his mind, the fight against the giant was entirely parallel: the predators were attacking his sheep; the giant was attacking the Lord’s sheep. So, David expected God to provide in the same way He had in the previous situations. Goliath’s size and abilities were of no concern in this equation. We must make this kind of “spiritual reasoning” a regular part of our thinking a decision-making. (See Ps. 27:1-3)
Finally, David was encouraged by God’s character and commitments. He knew that God was (and still is) committed to His covenant people. This confidence is indicated in David’s language: “uncircumcised Philistine,” “the armies of the living God.” In fact, God’s commitment to His people and to the building and protection of His church must be one of the key factors in our thinking when we step out in faith. He didn’t even spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. How can we think that He will withhold anything needful after such a demonstration of His determined devotion to us? (Rom. 8:32,33)
Things haven’t changed a bit. God hasn’t changed. Our enemies are His enemies; our needs are His concern. His glory is still the ultimate issue in every circumstance of our lives. He loves to be the deliverer and the redeemer. He also delights in the faith of His people because it indicates that we trust Him to be the God He has promised to be – despite apparently contrary or impossible circumstances. As we seek His glory, we are on good ground to expect Him to provide. This is also the place of effective prayer. Faith is not irrational – not at all. It is supremely rational, because it trusts in the One who stands beyond all created reality. Guided by His Word, encouraged by our experience of His faithfulness, emboldened by His presence and established on His covenant faithfulness, let’s honor our Father by expecting Him to do far more than seems possible in our circumstances.
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