Perhaps

***I originially wrote this for the church's blog at www.Ulifechurch.com, but I believe the truths looked at in this article are universal and therefore relevant to the masses :)


(1 Samuel 14:1, 4-7 NIV, emphasis added)

       1 One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. 4 On each side of the pass that Jonathanintended to cross to reach the Philistine outpost was a cliff; one was called Bozez, and the other Seneh. 5 One cliff stood to the north toward Micmash, the other to the south toward Geba. 6 Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.” 7 “Do all you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.”


         ….So the Philistines had assembled -nearly 10,000 strong we learn when reading the account of this epic battle in its entirety (which I strongly encourage all to do)- and were preparing to attack Saul and the army of Israel, who, as a result, were busy hiding out on the outskirts of town under a pomegranate tree, most likely discussing their limited options, and attempting to construct something of a battle plan all while trying to hide the fear and anxiety that had undoubtedly gripped each one of them with the realization of the overwhelming tactical disadvantage Israel was faced with being as outnumbered and out-gunned as they were. You see, we read in verse 2 that there were only around 600 men with Saul on the day this event took place, and to make matters worse, Saul and his son Jonathan were the only two among them who actually had a sword. The rest of the soldiers were armed with old farm tools that had been sharpened for use in battle: plowshares, mattocks, pitchforks, sickles and the like. The Philistines were without question a far more powerful, more equipped, more experienced, and better prepared fighting unit than King Saul’s young army…..
         This, however, did little to discourage Jonathan, who had evidently grown weary and restless from the inaction and idle discussion of the others and so he secretly set off to make trouble for their enemy with only his young armor-bearer in tow. To put it another way, and bring it into our specific context, I imagine that Jonathan’s thought process was  something along the lines of  “While these guys sit around and talk about ministry, I think we’ll just go and actually DO ministry…”
        
         Now, on either side of the pass in which he and his armor-toting sidekick had to travel in order to reach their destination was a cliff (I love that the text says “the pass that Jonathan intended to cross.” Because he obviously didn’t know for sure if he would make it across alive or not). One was named “Bozez” and the other “Seneh.” In the original Hebrew, Bozez means “slippery” and Seneh translates to “thorny”. How often it is that when we are pursuing God’s will for our lives the road that we must journey to get there is slippery, dangerous, and filled with thistles, thorns and briars just begging to inflict pain, slow us down and encourage us to re-route to a path of lesser-resistance!  No matter who we are or what we believe, there is a certain amount of hell that each of us will inevitably encounter and endure in this world during our time under the sun. We were never promised a life free of trouble, on the contrary, Jesus all but guaranteed that in this world we WILL experience hardship, resistance, and conflict but  what He did promise is that we would never have to face these troubles alone. He is and will be with us always, even to the very end of the age, and it is in Him alone that we may have peace. (Matthew 28:20) (John 16:33)  Indeed, it is in these valleys of life where our faith and character are most effectively cultivated and refined.    
         When Jonathan and his armor-bearer were close to the camp of their enemy, the prince decided it would be a good idea to share with his subordinate the nature of his plans. He makes no grand speech to raise morale or give inspiration. He pulls no punches. No, the young ambitious prince gets directly to the heart of the matter by uttering a simple and straight-forward statement. More of a suggestion to be considered than a order to be carried-out. Two simple sentences with astronomical implications, and just one subtle word in the middle of them that was so unexpected and loaded with such a significant amount of uncertainty that whole sermons, commentaries, and blog posts have since been derived from this one simple word from an arguably obscure Old Testament passage…

         6  Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows.Perhapsthe LORD will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”

         Perhaps…
        
         Perhaps.

         Perhaps?!?

         If I am Jonathan’s armor-bearer, I’ll be honest, I am fairly certain that I am going to need a bit more than a “perhaps” on this one. First of all, Johnny-boy, there’s just two of us… two. and of that number, only half of us have a sword. Secondly, I’m not certain exactly how many “uncircumcised fellows” there are in this particular detachment, but I do know that  there’s way more than 20 of them, and we are on their turf. Also, If things start going badly for us, there’s no back-up coming to bail us out…. We came here in secret, remember? Oh, and did I mention there’s only two of us….?

            As ridiculous as Jonathan’s idea seems at first glance, the faith that the young zealous prince displayed with a single word is humbling at the very least. Even with such high stakes, and with so much on the line, Jonathan was willing to move forward in spite of the crippling odds against them. He was willing to jump-To go for it- To lay it all on the line because “perhaps” God would act on their behalf. Jonathan was aware of an eternal truth that we would do well to learn and remember: World changers are risk takers. …  The fate of not only the two of them but  also of the entire nation of Israel would likely be determined by the outcome of what would follow, and Jonathan was willing to take that chance. He had the courage to declare “perhaps”…. He embraced the maybe, and ultimately it was counted to him as faith.

         However, this story could have gone much differently if Jonathan’s young, unnamed armor-bearer would have been as hesitant and doubtful as I would have been in the same situation. He could have easily pushed back and made all the valid arguments I have pointed out and more in order to avoid what appeared to be an extremely fool-hardy endeavor… but this was not his response at all. Lets look at his reply:

         7 “Do all you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.”

        
         ……and of course, God did act on their behalf. He worked a miracle through Jonathan’s faith and as it is recorded in V. 23- “The LORD rescued Israel that day”


         The bottom line, United Life Church, is this:

                   Knoxville doesn’t need another church. Knoxville needs a move of God. Pastors Terry and Amy didn’t move to Tennessee to start just another church, they desire to lead a movement of Christ that will change the world in their generation, leave a legacy for their children, and will see many, many lives changed for The Kingdom…A movement of people who are united under the gospel to bring hope, extend grace, and demonstrate love to an increasingly lost and dying world. A people that, when gathered, create an atmosphere and environment where the lost are found, where disciples make disciples,where captives are set free, the sick are healed,  where families stay together, men are spiritual leaders in the home, the broken  are restored, where people mature spiritually and give generously. However,  even with all the vision that they have and the heart that God has given our senior leaders for this community, The Nelsons did not begin this journey with any Guarantees or a back-up plans when they uprooted their family and left all they knew to parachute-drop into an unfamiliar city hundreds of miles away trusting that this is where God was leading them…  What they did have was the courage and audacious faith to say “Perhaps God will act on our behalf.” Perhaps.

         So Church, The question for you and for me is:

          Will we be the kind of people who say “Do all you have in mind. Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.”

         May it be so.

        

         Grace and Peace! A<><