In 1 Samuel 14:6-7, we learn from the audacious faith of two persons – Jonathan, the son of King Saul, and his personal armour-bearer. At a time when Israel was troubled by the Philistines and everyone, including Saul, was living in fear, two men rose to show the way of faith. Hear the words of Jonathan in 1 Samuel 14:6. He said to his armour-bearer, “Come and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; perhaps the Lord will work for us, for the Lord is not restrained to save by many or by few.” 

The question we should ask is: Shouldn’t it be Saul who should have said these words? Everyone would expect a God-ordained king to be the one to have that kind of confidence. But he was nowhere to be found and was not acting as he ought to. Here was his son who was making more sense. Jonathan had more trust in the Lord than his father. His exact words were, “…the Lord will work for us, for the Lord is not restrained to save by many or by few.” These are not the words of a person who had left God out of the equation. Besides, he also referred to the Philistines as the uncircumcised. In other words, he still recognized that they, the people of Israel, were God’s covenant people.

Here’s a loose paraphrase of Jonathan’s words – “God has no equal. The number of people He had to deal with is inconsequential. Whether it is few or many that He had to confront makes no difference. He simply could deal with them, and He is completely trustworthy.” These are words of abiding trust. It is not an exaggeration to say that God would want more of us whom He had called to Himself to have such unflinching trust. Just imagine if only Saul and the rest of the 600 people had such audacious faith too. There would be no telling what God could accomplish through them. It’s not the size of our ability but the size of our God that our confidence should come from. When we have God, there will be no problem that we cannot surmount. For with God, we form the majority.

The armour-bearer Jonathan had with him would also be the kind of companion we surely would like to have in facing tough situations. He was equally trusting of the Lord. He echoed the words of Jonathan and said, “Do all that is in your heart; turn yourself, and here I am with you according to your desire.”

Dear fellow believers, we are not only fellow sojourners in the journey with God, but we are also His fellow workers in the business of advancing His business. When we have the same mindset and bravery, what can prevent us from being the greatest force the world and our enemy will ever reckon with? We ought to have the same kingdom mindset when it comes to the business of the Kingdom. Remember one shall put a thousand to flight, and two, ten thousand!  

The kind of trust that Jonathan and his armour-bearer have in God should be common among people who have faith in God. We should not presume on God, but we will not flinch when it comes to trusting God. Jesus’ word to us is still, “With God, all things are possible” and “Nothing is impossible to those who believe.” Let’s develop this kind of audacious faith in God!