“…for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving” … Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet…

1 Samuel 14:6, 13 ESV

What struck me reading this was that second verse. Picture him climbing up on his hands and feet. It seems a completely vulnerable position. It shows he was really believing what he said. He trusted the Lord to save and it showed.

Faith without works is dead (James 2:26). If we’re doing nothing to show our faith, we’re not really believing anything.

During 2020-2021, I never once bought hand sanitizer, nor wiped down mail or groceries. I licked my fingers to get bags open at the store and hugged my 80-year old parents. I showed my faith. It was well placed on knowledge of my God, like Jonathan’s.

Our actions show what we believe. Saul didn’t know God well. He offered sacrifices in a way that broke God’s law, but he did it to earn God’s “favor” (yesterday’s reading). David knew that God didn’t desire sacrifice but a contrite heart (Ps. 51:16-17) and that’s what he presented to God. Their actions, their responses, showed what they believed. What they believed began with what they knew about God.

We need to know God and to always be getting to know Him by setting our hearts on Him. Make Him your desire.