Simple Math
6 min read
13 Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and then you will know that I am the LORD.’
14 “But who will do this?” asked Ahab.
The prophet replied, “This is what the LORD says: ‘The junior officers under the provincial commanders will do it.’ ”
“And who will start the battle?” he asked.
The prophet answered, “You will.”
— 1 Kings 20:13-14
Everything God does is for His glory. This truth is where the reality of our existence begins. Then, everything that God does for us is for His glory. And so it is for His glory that we know that He is the LORD—the one and only God.
But knowing that He is the LORD implies that we follow Him as LORD. If we are not following Jesus as Lord, we are not really “knowing” who He is. And if we do not know who He is—that is, LORD—then we do not give glory to God.
Even Ahab, famous for being a terrible king, when having to face thirty-two armies against his one, knew that he had to follow exactly what God told him to do in order to live.
If only our Lord would give us specific instructions about what it is He wants us to do, surely we would carry them out, right?
Wrong. We all fall short of this very simple principle over and over again. More often than not, for believers, our hearts are like the seed planted in rocky soil or the weedy soil. We let the circumstances of our lives distract us and divert us from following Jesus in what He has called us to do—to love one another and to bear witness to Him to the ends of the earth. And by being distracted and diverted from following Jesus, we do not glorify God.
Not only that, often the devil distracts us with the guilt and shame of sin so that we become immobilized. We think (wrongly), “How can I be of any use to God when I am such a sinner?” We forget that (1) God will always bring good out of bad, and (2) God makes us “more good” when we do what Jesus does.
And so we find ourselves in an endless and pointless wrestling match with our sin (which we can’t defeat on our own, btw) instead of leaving the wrestling behind and being on mission with Jesus.
I understand fully how harsh this may sound to the community I love. But I pray that you all understand that I always include myself in the challenge that comes from the word of God.
I would not do most of the things that I do, except that I am constantly reminded that my obedience is (1) for the glory of God and (2) for my good. Because most of the time, I do not naturally think of (1) and (2) being equal.
Every step of faith is a step of obedience, and every step of obedience is a step of faith. And the fruit of faith-obedience is (1) loving one another and (2) bearing witness to Jesus to the ends of the earth (1) for the glory of God and (2) for our own good. And as we FOLLOW Jesus (1) God will always bring good out of bad, and (2) God makes us “more good” when we do what Jesus does.
Father, my spirit is willing to FOLLOW You wholeheartedly, but so often I find my flesh to be so weak. And yet, I see how You are building up my faithfulness, perseverance, hope, and love. My hope is You, Lord. You are my great Reward and Shield. You are my salvation. You are my purpose. In Jesus’s name. Amen.