Hosanna Restoration Church

When we know someone, we know how they think. The more we are around a person the more we can predict their actions and reactions to situations. The more we see them in action the greater confidence we have in their ability to get results. For instance, when it comes to sports, there are some people who are capable of accomplishing amazing things. There are quarterbacks who strike more fear in opponents when there is only a short period of time left in a game than they do at the beginning of game. This is all because they have a reputation for late-game heroics. The same is true in every walk of life. Some people just seem to be able to produce results. There are times when the reputation alone does more to defeat the other team than anything they actually do.

On the other hand, there are times when people rise up and refuse to bow down to what is expected to happen and they change the whole outcome. David was a man who saw how big the Goliath was but had more confidence in what God could do. In the natural, David had no chance, but he had spent a lot of time getting to know God. He had performed some pretty amazing feats himself as a shepherd and happily attributed those successes to the power of God. Because of this, He was confident that God could handle Goliath just as well as He could handle a bear or a lion. All of the other soldiers knew about God, they just did not know God well enough to expect Him to act on their behalf. Compared to Goliath they did not have a hope for winning. David chose to compare the problem with God rather comparing himself to the problem.

We need to learn to do this very same thing. No matter what we have or what we come against, we need to compare it Jesus. To the extent that we know Him, we will be able to compare what we think, feel, or expect, to what Jesus knows and is able to do. When we are sick, we can compare the sickness to His power to heal, rather than the power the sickness has over our body. When we have no idea what to do, we can compare our despair to His power to repair!

This is one more reason that Paul could say everything else is worthless compared to knowing Jesus. What we have is nothing compared to what He can give us. This sets us free from worrying about losing things and allows us to give whatever it is the Lord wants us to give. The richest person in the world has nothing when it is compared to all that God has. The whole earth is His and the fullness thereof.

This of course is just so much talk until we know Him. To the natural understanding it is in fact pretty crazy. But then, so was Moses holding a stick over the Red Sea or David taking a slingshot after a giant. Or, how about a million or so people walking around a city in silence then shouting as loud as they could expecting the walls to come down. And let’s not forget Jesus calling a man who had been dead for 4 days. And of course He also said “He” would rise from the dead!

Now, knowing Jesus and how He feels about us are we willing to get to know Him well enough so that trusting Him will be as natural as breathing. Are we willing to allow Him to prove Himself? In our natural lives, we trust doctors to tell us what will help us. We trust Lawyers to get us justice. We trust bankers and investment people with our money. These folks all have their place and they do as well as they can, but lets face it. Compared to Jesus, they are small potatoes! God help us to know you as David did and compare everything to you.