Just a little seed of faith

11/8/13

S: Judges 4:1-24 The Lord allowed the Hazorians to oppress the Israelites for 20 years because they stopped following the Lord. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord raised up Deborah the prophetess to judge Israel.

She told Barak ben Abinoam to lead an army against Sisera, the Hazorian general, telling jim that the Lord has promised him victory. However, Barak didn't have enough faith and said he would only go if Deborah went with him.

Deborah replied, “Very well, I will go with you. But you will receive no honor in this venture, for the Lord’s victory over Sisera will be at the hands of a woman.”

So the Lord gave Barak's forces victory, but arranged for Sisera to be killed by Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, instead, as prophesied.

O: Barak didn't have enough faith to lead the army of Israel on his own against the army of Hazor even though the Lord had prophesied victory. But he had just a little bit of faith ― enough that if Deborah went with him, he would be willing to do it. This robbed Barak of the full glory of the victory, but God was still able to use that little seed of faith to achieve His purposes.

Nonetheless, Barak was still listed in the Faith Hall of Fame of Hebrews 11. God was able to take that little seed of faith and grow a tree of victory with it.

In Mark 9:14-29, we saw a man didn't have a lot of faith Jesus could heal his epileptic son, since Jesus' disciples already failed to do so. Yet because he had just a little seed of faith to say to Jesus, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” God was able to take that little seed of faith to heal his son.

A: We often lack faith. When confronted with a difficult situation, it can be hard to trust God. But if we have faith just a little seed of faith, even as small as a mustard seed, God can still do amazing things.

This is because it's not so much dependent on our faith, as much as the One we have faith in ― God.

P: Father, I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief! In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)