Saving the Day
Today’s Verse:
And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou. ~1 Kings 20:13-14
Most of us can think of a time in our life when we were in a tough predicament, but God, in His mercy, sent someone to us to help us. Like me, you might have said, “Thanks! You saved the day!” In other words, a disaster was averted because the right person came at the right time. This morning, would you notice who God uses to save the day?
God uses the forgotten.
Ahab was filled with fear. Samaria was surrounded by the Syrians. He saw the great multitude of Syrians and thought the worst. God sent an anonymous prophet to tell him that he would achieve victory over this great multitude. The means that God would use would be the young men of the princes of the provinces. These were men who would not have been considered at all by Ahab or his leaders. They were forgotten because they were “too young” or “likely to fail.” God specializes in using those men whom no one else considers. God used Moses, Ehud, Shamgar, Gideon, David, and a little lad to accomplish something great. God used these young men of the province.
God uses the few.
There were only 232 of these young men to lead 7,000 Israelites in war. The Syrians were called a great multitude. God uses the few to accomplish His work. Think of Abraham and his 318 trained servants, who defeated the five kings. Think of Gideon and his 300 men. Think of the apostles, who carried the gospel message throughout the known world. With God, we are the majority. Never discount the day of small things or the little in number that you have.
God uses faith.
Without faith, it is impossible to please God. The greatest asset that the young men had as they entered into battle with their 7,000 was their faith. Ahab would order the battle, but it was the faith of the young men that enabled them. They had faith that was unimpaired. They had faith that was unparalleled. They had faith that they would overcome the Syrians. I am thankful for the faith of young men. They had faith that sees the invisible and believes that God can do the impossible.
God uses the fiery.
The Bible says that the young men came out at the first, slew every one his man, and pursued after them. Young men are filled with determination and a “can-do” attitude. God saw the older men as being paralyzed with fear, preoccupied with their finances, or passive in faith. God saw 232 young men who would prove that they would get the job done and not disappoint the Lord or Ahab. The only thing Ahab had to do was order the battle. Like these young men, be someone zealous of good works.
These young men led the nation to victory. We don’t know any of their names. We do know that these were men who saved the day for Ahab and Israel. Would you be someone God could use to save the day?
Have a fervent God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: 1 Chronicles 15-17