Our Need

Among the characteristics we could cite, our forbearers in the faith had at least two qualities about them that enabled them to stand against great odds. These saints of the covenant had faith and courage.

There’s a lack in our day of both. More often than I care to think about, doubt and fear have won the day and left God’s saints in a puddle of impotence and despair. I know this has been true of my own life. But this should never be the case for God’s people. Scripture offers us some encouraging examples of those who trusted God and were able to face seemingly insurmountable odds.

Example 1: Caleb

When Moses sent an expedition to Canaan to explore what awaited God’s children in the land of promise, the report confirmed all God had promised – it was lush and flowed with milk and honey, as advertised. But there was a catch. There was also a huge obstacle before them. In the land there were “giants” who made the Israelites seem like hobbits in a land of orcs. The report from the expedition team was, “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:33).

But this pessimistic report was not shared by all. For in Numbers 13:30 we read,

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

Caleb had faith in God and his covenant promises, and therefore, could be as courageous as Frodo and Sam in the land of Mordor.

Example 2: David

David faced similar circumstances later in redemptive history, with a similar response. As the Israelites shook in their sandals before the great Goliath and the Philistine horde, the young shepherd boy looked on in bewilderment. In what seemed like arrogance at worst and naiveté at best, this “king-to-be” couldn’t understand why his people had not already taken the uncircumcised behemoth apart – especially in light of Goliath’s jeering and insolence before the living God. David queried,

“Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26)

And so, like Caleb before him, David volunteered to take Goliath on. So what if he seemed like a grasshopper before this giant of a man, all nine feet of him. David drew courage from his faith in the One who had never failed him before.

Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:36-37)
 
The Foundation for Faith and Courage

With faith and courage David faced the giant, and the rest, as we say, is history. What was the foundation for such faith and courage in the lives of Caleb and David? We are told in Jeremiah 1:8 and 19.

Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
Caleb and David knew in their day what God told Jeremiah in his. That is, God’s people will be opposed. That’s a given. We will seem like grasshoppers in comparison to our enemies. The “apparent” odds will be overwhelmingly against us. But God calls the weak, poor, small, seemingly insignificant hobbits of this world to serve as his subjects, his knights, to advance his Kingdom, even in the face of the enemy (perhaps especially so).

Who Are Your Giants?

Philistines and other barbarians continue to surround God’s people today in a variety of ways. Yet we are called to stand firm in the face of such opposition because Caleb and David’s God is also our God. Is anything greater than the covenant-making, covenant-keeping Lord of Glory? It is this very God who promised never to forsake us. That alone is grounds for faith and courage in the midst of insurmountable odds.

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Cor. 15:58)

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. (1 Cor. 16:13)

Walking Points

·         Who or what are some of the Philistines that face Christians in our culture today? How can you equip yourself and your church to stand firm and remain faithful against such opposition?
·         On a more personal level, who (or what) are the giants in your life, opposing your walk with Christ? What is it about them that causes you to fear and turn the other way?
·         What is a strategy you could start using today to help you face your giants with faith and courage?
·         Of course, you should never travel alone. Who are two or three brothers you could ask to pray for you, offer you wisdom, encourage you and help hold you accountable? Ask them to join you today.

Prayer

Sovereign God, the battle is yours. You call me to trust you and participate in the battle, but you have already declared victory. Why then do I, all too often, tuck tail and run? Give me, I humbly pray, the faith and courage of Caleb and David. Help me to fear others so little because I fear you so much. Fill me with your Spirit and enable me to know you are with me. Then, enable me to face the kingdom of darkness and wickedness with the confidence of being your son. Because, if you are for me, who can possibly be against me? In Christ I pray. Amen.

This Week’s Prayer Guide

[You can use this prayer guide in your own personal prayer time. However, I encourage you to use it with a group of Christian men. Each week you should spend time praising God for who he is, confessing your sin to him (be specific) as well as expressing gratitude to him for his gracious forgiveness. Also, don’t forget to thank God for the many ways he has poured out his goodness in your life. Then, focus on the following areas of supplication, which will change from week to week.]

Petitions – prayers for yourself

·         Spiritual Warfare
·         Growth in Christlikeness
·         Increasing faithfulness in the spiritual disciplines 
·         My health
·         For my ordinary appointments and activities to become divine appointments and activities. 
·         Other needs

Intercession – prayers for others

·         My Family 
·         Mercy for those who are poor and hungry  
·         Justice for those who are oppressed and persecuted  
·         Love for those who oppress and persecute others
·         Peace for those in the midst of war, crime, and violence   
·         Other needs

Psalm 63:1 – O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Mixed Feelings

I think I know what it means to thirst for God, to long for him, to hunger for him.

I believe there are two different circumstances in which I experience this longing. One is when I have been walking closely with the Lord. I feel it when I am spending much time with him in his Word, in prayer and meditation, in worship, in the reading of books by godly authors, and so on. The more I am with him, the richer my time with him, the more I discover I want to be with him, the deeper I desire to go in my relationship with him. There is a true sense of longing during such times.

And yet, as strange as it sounds, during those times in my life of spiritual draught and depression, I also long for him. However, there’s something qualitatively different about the feeling. When things are going well in my walk with the Lord, it seems my deeper longing for him will yield great fruit. I almost expect a rich encounter with him. Yet, when I feel distant from him, though I still long for him, I wonder if I’ll ever have again with God what I once had. It’s almost a “longing of despair.” Have you ever experienced that?

Fickle Feelings

My experience is a good example of why it’s often unsafe to put too much stock in our feelings. Our feelings are fickle and they have the capacity to lead us astray. Not only that, but there are many things that can affect our feelings, such as our health, our sleeping patterns, our diet, the time of day, and our relationships. I often treasure my feelings, but I am very aware of how unreliable they can be.

It’s when we gauge our spiritual life based on our feelings we can get ourselves into trouble. For example, one day with the Lord may be a wonderful blessing and you may be tempted to think you should be canonized as a saint. Yet, another day might yield the opposite experience and you may begin wondering if you’re even a Christian at all.

Instead of living on that sort of spiritual roller-coaster, wisdom calls us to trust in the Lord always and continue plodding along with him every day, regardless of our circumstances.

God Himself is Our Reward

Hebrews 11:6 says God rewards those who earnestly seek him. Deuteronomy 4:29 tells us if we look for the Lord with all of our heart and soul, we will find him. In these verses, and others throughout Scripture, we are encouraged by the Lord himself, to seek him. His promise is we will be rewarded by finding him. You see, God is the reward!

Feelings are great. God gave us feelings. But they too are affected by sin which often makes them unreliable. Therefore, don’t put all your trust in your feelings but in the God who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He alone is the One we are called to seek, thirst for, and long after and desire. He alone is worthy of such a grand pursuit.

Walking Points
​

• What do you think it means to desire God?
• When do you find yourself most desiring God?
• During what circumstances in your life do you feel the greatest distance from God? Closest to God?
• What can you do today that will help you more faithfully “plod along” with God during the good times and the bad times?
• Share your insights with a friend.

Prayer

Faithful God, I praise you that you are always trustworthy and true to your Word. You have promised to never leave me nor forsake me. Help me always believe that promise. Lord, I don’t have the words to express how grateful I am to you for placing desire for you in my heart. I know it is a fragile desire, far too susceptible to my fickle feelings. Fill me with your Spirit and control my desires that I might seek more and more to transform my life by renewing my mind daily. And as I renew my mind daily, may my love and desire for you increase exponentially. But even during those seasons (short ones, I pray) in which I feel distant from you, remind me that you are still with me. Please encourage me to continue plodding along in faithfulness, knowing that even this distance serves a purpose and to hold on to your promise once more. I ask this in the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

This Week’s Prayer Guide

[You can use this prayer guide in your own personal prayer time. However, I encourage you to use it with a group of Christian men. Each week you should spend time praising God for who he is, confessing your sin to him (be specific) as well as expressing gratitude to him for his gracious forgiveness. Also, don’t forget to thank God for the many ways he has poured out his goodness in your life. Then, focus on the following areas of supplication, which will change from week to week.]

Petitions – prayers for yourself

·         Lord, help me to faithfully participate in the life of my congregation and for the sake of my community…
Ø  By my prayers
Ø  By my presence
Ø  By my gifts
Ø  By my service
Ø  By my witness
·         Today’s events and interactions with others, planned and unplanned
·         Other needs

Intercession – prayers for others

·         My family
·         For those who serve in government, at the national, state, and local levels
·         For those who serve in law-enforcement
·         For those who serve in fire and rescue
·         For those who serve in our nation’s military
·         Other needs

Exodus 4:11-12 – The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? [12] Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

Luke 12:11-12 – “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, [12] for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

God’s Mouthpiece

In Exodus 4, God called Moses to be his mouthpiece. Moses would represent God to both the Egyptians as well as the Israelites. Moses would speak on God’s behalf and utter the very message God told him to pass on. Some believe that, when Moses first declined God's offer, he was practicing false humility, common in his day. Others believe he wasn't very eloquent and was simply scared. Who knows? Whatever the reason, it seems plausible he may have been a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of speaking to Pharaoh. Who wouldn’t?

I’ve been there. Such fear comes from relying too much upon myself and not enough on God. God says as much with these words,

“Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? (verse 11)

God’s the sovereign One in the equation, not me. Our Lord made a similar point in Luke 12 when he told his disciples they would be persecuted for following him. How would they respond when they were caught and tried by the authorities? How would they reply to the charges? Just think of the pressure and stress. Would fear overcome them? Or would they find the right words at the right moment?

Jesus told them not to worry about such things. He said,

“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, (verse 11)

Our Default Excuse

Over the years there have been many people who have told me they do not share their faith because they are “afraid they won’t know what to say.” How often have we remained silent when we could and should have lovingly confronted a friend or family member for a particular sin in their lives? How many times have we avoided offering counsel to someone making a major life-decision because the pressure was simply too great? We’re afraid we’ll get tongue-tied for Jesus.

Those, and other examples, are often the result of leaning too heavily upon our own abilities (or fearing our inabilities) rather than trusting God and his Spirit to speak through us. But notice the reasons both
God the Father in Exodus, and Jesus in Luke’s Gospel, give for placing our trust in God:

Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” (Exodus 4:12)

for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” (Luke 12:12)

Trust God and Speak

You see, God never requires anything from us for which he does not also equip us. God wants us to witness to unbelievers as well as to minister to fellow believers. We are his hands and feet. More than that, we are his voice. We are not called to share our own opinions, however, but his words and counsel. Of course, if we aren’t listening to God through prayer and the study of his Word, then it is indeed doubtful we will have much to offer anyone.

And yet, as we dig into his Word and meditate upon what he has revealed to us, we will hear not only what he is saying to us, but also what he wants us to share with others. And that’s more than worth our effort.

Walking Points

·         Have you ever been frozen in fear of what to say to someone who asked you why you were a Christian?
·         Or, have you not known how to counsel a friend who asked you for advice concerning a tough life-situation?
·         Did either of those experiences make you more or less likely to “speak for God” when future opportunities presented themselves? Why?
·         Do you think you were leaning too heavily upon yourself? Your abilities?
·         A mentor of mine once told me there was no shame in being asked a question for which I did not have an answer… the first time. However, he said, we never want to be asked the same question again without having prepared ourselves to answer it. What are three things you can start doing today to prepare yourself to better communicate God’s truth to another person when the next opportunity presents itself?

Prayer
 
Heavenly Father, I am grateful you have promised to always be with me. I am also thankful that both of today’s Scripture verses indicate you will speak through me when I have opportunities to be your ambassador to others. Please give me your peace and help me to not worry about how eloquent or clever I come across to others. Instead, let my greatest concern be to represent you faithfully out of love for others. Remind me that it will be your Holy Spirit and not my abilities that will bring a person to Christ or provide direction or comfort at the needed moment. And while you still call me to be a part of what you’re doing in the lives of others, let me remember to trust in you at all times and not presume it’s all up to me. And lastly, gracious Lord, encourage and humble me with the truth that if you can speak through the mouth of a donkey, you can speak even through me. In Christ I pray. Amen.
 
This Week’s Prayer Guide
 
[You can use this prayer guide in your own personal prayer time. However, I encourage you to use it with a group of Christian men. Each week you should spend time praising God for who he is, confessing your sin to him (be specific) as well as expressing gratitude to him for his gracious forgiveness. Also, don’t forget to thank God for the many ways he has poured out his goodness in your life. Then, focus on the following areas of supplication, which will change from week to week.]
 
Petitions – prayers for yourself
 
·         Give me greater love for those who are hard to love.
·         Help me to be compassionate and kind to those in need, even when it’s inconvenient.
·         Pour out upon me your courage and boldness to love those who do not know you and to share with them your Gospel, in word and deed.
·         Today’s events and interactions with others, planned and unplanned
·         Other needs
 
Intercession – prayers for others
 
·         My family
·         My family and friends who do not have a saving relationship with Christ
·         For those in my other spheres of influence who do not know Christ
·         For evangelists around our city, country, and world who risk much in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with those who are lost
·         Other needs