I remember sitting in the back corner of the church that raised me back in Somerset (which is not in eastern Kentucky, despite what some of you believe). The speaker was a church planter raising support to plant a church in the Boston area. The text was 1 Samuel 14. The point he made that night was both profound and simple enough for me to remember it some 13-14ish years later: What if God shows up?
If you’ve read today’s passage, you saw the challenge. The tandem of Jonathan and his armor bearer off on their own, facing down the Philistines. They were alone, they were outnumbered, but Jonathan was hopeful:“It may be that the Lord will work for us…” (1 Sam. 14:6).What if God shows up?
As for the speaker that night, he was pondering that question for his own ministry. The context he was walking into was a difficult one—but what if God showed up? By all accounts, God did show up, just as he did for Jonathan and his armor bearer. And God has continued showing up ever since as that church has now multiplied to additional campuses in the Boston area.
What about for you? Is there a dire situation in your life? Something that you’ve all but given up on? The repentance and salvation of a prodigal child? That besetting sin that you can’t seem to gain any victory over? The anxiety and depression that lingers over your head like a storm cloud? What in your life have you pushed into the corner because it seems hopeless?
Now that you’ve identified whatever that is, consider this question: what if God shows up? The God who brings redemption, freedom, healing, comfort, hope—what if he shows up? That changes the outlook on things, doesn’t it?
This season reminds us that we don’t have to wonder if God will show up. The virgin conceived and bore a son, and he was called Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:22-23). Be encouraged, dear friends—God has shown up.
VC Devotionals 