Humility, Faith, Pride

Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 14:13, And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armorbearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” What a magnificent demonstration of faith we see in Jonathan’s approach to the Philistines’ garrison. Prior to approaching them, Jonathan first sought confirmation from the Lord that He would fight on their behalf. Verses 8-10 tell us, “Then Jonathan said, ‘Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them. 9 If they say thus to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them. 10 But if they say thus, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up. For the LORD has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.’” Upon receiving the confirmation from the Lord by the Philistines’ response to them, Jonathan and his armorbearer went forward to humbly, yet boldly, face their enemies (v. 12-13). I say “humbly” because of how they went forward to face the Philistines. Keep in mind that the Philistines saw them coming and called them to come up and fight them. So, they were keenly aware that Jonathan and his armorbearer were coming up that hillside. Yet, Jonathan had such faith that God was going to deliver them into their hands that he went up on his hands and knees. How many of us would have dared approach such a situation without a sword or some weapon in hand? This is the kind of faith that pleases the LORD. The kind of faith that seems foolish to the onlooker, but speak volumes of how much we trust God to deliver us in difficult circumstances or times when our enemies try to destroy us and our faith. This is the kind of faith that will move mountains (Matthew 17:20). On the other hand, we see the pride of the Philistines. Although they outnumbered Jonathan and his armorbearer, twenty against two, they experienced a great slaughter. 1 Peter 5:5-7 clearly states, “‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” James 4:6-7 also clearly states, “‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” The Philistines made the same prideful mistake that Goliath later makes when David approaches him. Far too many of us, who claim to be God’s children, fall because of our prideful attitudes and thoughts. Proverbs 16:18-19 tells us, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. 19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” We allow our talents, abilities, material riches, and own worldly wisdom, convince us that we are self-sufficient. We mistake our “religiosity” for godliness and begin to look down on others who do not practice the religious rituals we have put in place in our lives, yet our hearts are far from the LORD. In Matthew 15:7-9 Jesus said this relative to the religious leaders, “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” Faith takes great humility. When we truly have faith, and act in faith, what we are saying is, “LORD, I cannot do this on my own. This is impossible for me, but I know that all things are possible with You; and because you are sending me, I know it will be done, regardless of what I have to go through to succeed.” Faith means total submission to the LORD. Jonathan not only spoke encouraging words of faith to his armorbearer, but he proved it by going ahead of him in the most vulnerable position anyone could be in under such circumstances, on his hands and knees. Do we have this kind of faith? Is someone in our life looking to see if we lead with this kind of faith? Does our life and actions, the way we serve the LORD, speak loudly by the way we approach life’s challenges, on our knees, completely trusting in the LORD?

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).