Jesus welcomed the people, taught them about the Kingdom of God and healed those in need. Luke 9:11

Seeds of the Kingdom

Stepping out in faith - the Beginning of Miracles

by Jill Southern

“Lets go across to those heathen Philistines”, Jonathan said to his armour bearer, “Perhaps the Lord will do a miracle for us. For it makes no difference to Him how many enemy troops there are!” “Do all that you have in mind”, his armour bearer said, “Go ahead, I am with you heart and soul”.
1 Samuel 14:6-7, NIV

This is the story of the bravery of Jonathan and his armour bearer. His armour bearer was only a youth. He was fully submitted, loyal and obedient to Jonathan, even to the point of risking his own life.

Saul did a poor job as king, because of fear, and he seemed to have no communication with his Son, Jonathan. Saul’s weak leadership was a result of his spiritual decline. Effective leadership needs spiritual character.

Why did Jonathan go it alone? Maybe he was fed up with the long hopeless procrastination of his father. Jonathan knew God was a miracle-working God, even if the enemy powerfully outnumbered the two of them. They put their trust in God alone. God honoured their faith and gave them a tremendous victory.

Do you sometimes feel surrounded by overwhelming odds with the enemy looking all powerful? We can learn from Jonathan today to commit what resources we do have to God, to rely totally upon Him and He will surely give us the victory.

With God on our side we are always in ‘the majority’. But notice God did not initiate this event. Jonathan had a plan and his number two agreed to go with him. They killed 20 Philistines and panic struck the whole army of the Philistines and the ground shook. The Philistines were confused and started killing each other in their panic. God provided the miracle following Jonathan’s steps of faith.

Is God calling you to step out in faith? If you are truly being obedient to His voice, then as you walk forward today and initiate the action, God will bring the blessing and the victory.

Prayer: Dear Lord, please help me to have the faith to believe for the miracles and the victories that You have for me in my life. Give me the courage to get started by moving forward first. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jill Southern is the founder of Ellel Ministries Pierrepont and directed the work for 21 years. She has recently stood down from that role but still teaches on the NETS programme and has the passion to train and equip God`s people to fully walk in their destiny and calling. She is the Regional Director for Ellel Ministries International in South East Asia and China and is also on the Executive Leadership of the ministry.

 

Sign Up Now

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.