Where is he?  He’s supposed to be here right now.  We’re about to make the big announcement.  Everybody is waiting.

Being crowned king is a big deal.  One would think that when you are about to be crowned king you would be pretty engaged in the moment.  However, when the time came to begin the ceremony the “soon to be king” was nowhere to be found.

So, what do you do when the man you’re about to crown as king doesn’t show up for the ceremony?  You go looking for him of course.  And that’s what they did.  But when they couldn’t find him what could they do?

Well, they could ask the Lord where he was.  So they did.  And, of course, the Lord knew where he was.  He was hiding.  He was hiding amongst the baggage all piled up from everyone who had traveled for the big ceremony.

They dragged him out and installed him as king.

This is, of course, the story of Saul, the first king of Israel.

We normally think of Saul as a bad king – which he was.  He paled in comparison to David.  We know that he was jealous of David, he wasn’t willing to really trust God, he was paranoid and he spent most of his time trying to kill David.

He got off to a rough start knowing that Israel had rejected God as their King and demanded God give them a king like the other nations.  God said it was a very bad idea, but gave Israel a king anyways – Saul.

I recently read the account of Saul’s first days as King in 1 Samuel 10 and 11.  He began cowering and he ended up conquering.   He went from hiding in the baggage to defeating the Ammonites.  He went through a major transition from cowardice to becoming courageous.

How did that happen?  What went on to create the kind of transition that we would all like to see in our lives?  How did he shift from cowering and cowardice to becoming courageous and conquering?

From what I can see there are 5 steps to transition us from cowardice to being courageous:

1. Step out of fear and into faith
2. Step out of lies and into truth
3. Surround yourself with valiant allies
4. Be filled with the Holy Spirit
5. Fight for the freedom of others

Our first battle is to choose to believe that God is big enough for whatever our limitations may be and for whatever the circumstance is that we may be facing.  We have to stop looking at what is and start looking to God for what can be.  Choose faith over fear.  Fear is focussing on you and your limitations; faith is focussing on God and His limitlessness.

We have to then choose to stop believing the lies of the enemy and start believing the Truth of God.  Stop listening to the whisper campaign of our spiritual foe and start listening to the Logos and Rema word of God.  You cannot be courageous and believe lies – the lies of the enemy are sent to alienate and isolate, demean and diminish you.

We must surround ourselves with valiant allies who are fellow travellers on the journey from cowering to conquering, from cowardice to courageous.  Life is a team game – it can’t be done well alone.  And, following Jesus is definitely a team game.  We are one body and we need each other to be who we are called to be.

We must be filled with the Holy Spirit – regularly.   I don’t know about you, but I can feel filled and empowered by the Spirit of God one day, and the next I can feel very empty.  I have determined that I leak somehow.  So, I ask the Lord to regularly fill me with His spirit.  This is what made all the difference for Saul.

Lastly, it was in fighting for the freedom of others that Saul really found his strength.  We are meant to be spent for the benefit of others.  It is in the service of others that we get over ourselves and find a new level of courage, resolve and mission.

From cowardice to courageous – 5 key steps.

1 Samuel 10:22b

“And the Lord said, ‘Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage.’”

1 Samuel 10:26

“Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men who hearts God had touched.”

1 Samuel 11:6

“When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger.”

1 Samuel 11:8, 9, 11

“When Saul mustered them at Bezek, the men of Israel numbered three hundred thousand and the men of Judah thirty thousand.  They told the messengers who had come, ‘Say to the men of Jabesh Gilead, ‘By this time the sun is hot tomorrow, you will be delivered.’… The next day Saul separated his men into three divisions; during the last watch of the night they broke into the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them until the heat of the day…”

What stresses you out?

Money?  (Or lack thereof)  Work?  Relational conflict?  Parenting?  Responsibilities?

All of the above?

Life is full of stress, and it can be both good and bad.  Stressful situations are those that push us out of our comfort zone.  This can actually help us realize we have greater capacity than we thought we had.  A life free from stress is one which never demands more of us than we’re sure we can handle.

I know that stress in my life is a key factor in growing my faith.  When I am pushed beyond my own resources I have to depend on God.  When I come to the end of myself, I meet the Lord in profound ways.

Perhaps we can say that stress is actually a perquisite for a deeper relationship with the Lord.

For example: what really stressed me out in the early years of launching and growing my business, did not do so in later years of the business.  My faith had grown.  Stress had stretched me and increased my strength.

Or perhaps, more accurately, it was the stretching that caused the stress and forced me into a deeper encounter with the Lord.

Stress is really our reaction to situations that push us outside our comfort zone.  We can move into fear, or we can move into faith.  Will we fear that we won’t have what we need to get through whatever the stretching is, or will we choose to believe that God can provide all we need to get through whatever we are facing.

Being stressed out is a fearful reaction to stretching.

Stretching does not have to produce fear and stress us out.  It can produce faith if we choose to focus on the Lord and not on ourselves.

I would like to suggest that growth is impossible without stress, if we define stress as simply that which pushes us outside our comfort zone.  Stress is not synonymous with worry and anxiety.  Worry and anxiety is caused by a fearful response to stress.

Let’s look at the children of Israel leaving Egypt being trapped at the shores of the Red Sea as Pharaoh’s chariots closed in on them.  I would consider that a highly stressful situation.  The people of Israel chose worry and anxiety – a faithless response.  Moses chose faith – he believed that God was faithful and He would somehow deliver them.

I heard about a survey recently that was done with 1,000 young adults.  They were asked if they could go back to when they were children, what would they want more of?  The assumption was that they would want more time with their parents.  However, the most popular response was that they would have wanted to see their parents less stressed out.

Stress is part of everyday life.  There is no such thing as a life without stress.  However, we get to choose how we will respond to that stress.  Will we choose faith and believe Jesus is who He said He is and we can trust Him to provide for all of our needs?  Whether that be wisdom, favour, influence, customers, jobs, money, healing, patience, grace, love, etc.

Or, will we choose fear and believe that we have to take care of ourselves?

We will choose to be stressed out… of faith?  Or will we choose to be stressed in… to faith?  Stressed out… of Truth?  Or stressed in… to Truth?  Stressed out… of Jesus?  Or stressed in… to Jesus?

Being stressed out not only has significant physical, emotional and spiritual effects on us, but also on our children.  But, if we learn to choose faith and not fear – if we choose to cast all our cares on Jesus and trust that He will provide for all our needs – then the stresses of life actually lead to our personal growth and that of our children as well.   Our faith becomes real and tangible.

Our children need to hear us trusting Jesus to provide for our needs.  They need to see us casting our cares on Him.  They will certainly experience the effects of our worry and anxiety.

Choose faith over fear and be stressed in… to Jesus.

Luke 12:22-31

^“And He said to His disciples, ‘…do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing… And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span?… But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!… seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.’”

Philippians 4: 6, 7

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Luke 8:14

“The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.”

1 Peter 5:7

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.“

We stood there at the end of the trail facing a wild Indian river in the midst of tiger country.

“Let’s cross it!” I exclaimed.

“Dad, are you serious?” David and Benjamin responded with the looks on their faces.

It couldn’t be that dangerous.  There were women from the village washing clothes on the rocks next to the river.  I waded in and saw that the waters, though flowing fairly strongly, were only knee to mid-thigh in depth.

The boys had never forded a river before.  What a great place to do it for the first time.

Do you remember the feeling of the first time you forded a fast moving stream or river?  The strength of the water flowing against you was probably greater than you had expected – yes?  I know that was my experience.

I don’t remember the occasion of the first time I did this, but I do remember the feeling of the water working against me.  That, I will never forget.

And now my sons were about to experience the force of a flowing river.

The river was not that wide, perhaps 50 feet.  The bottom was covered with rounded “river” rocks of various sizes, so foot placement was tricky.  The boys nervously stepped into the river and immediately recognized this would not be that easy.

It was difficult to get a solid foot placement on the uneven rocks.  However, In order to hold their ground against the current they needed a strong base of support.  And it was not simply the rocks that made it difficult to stand, but the current would push their leg away from where they wanted to take their next step, and through them off balance.

As they went about tackling the challenge of getting to the other side they soon realized a number of key tactics:

1. Carefully choose where you stand
2. Get low
3. Lean into the current
4. Take small steps
5. Keep moving forward

When they realized they couldn’t walk the way they normally did, they started to make good headway and got to the other side.

And their joy at discovering a new found strength was obvious.  There was great celebration when they got across, and minimal concern coming back because they had proven they had the ability to do this.

The Lord brought this memory from 10 years ago to mind recently when I was discouraged with the difficulties of my life.  Sometime it just feels like I’m trying to wade across a river with a strong current.  Every step can be difficult.

Do you ever feel like that?

Life isn’t just sunshine and rainbows.  Sometimes it’s hard work.  We’re not unopposed.  It seems like the current of life can be set against us attempting to get us to give up; to stop moving forward.  The strategy of our spiritual enemy, the stuff of life, and the effects of other people on us can just make things tough sometimes.

All of this conspires to demotivate, discourage, and disillusion us from doing good.  In colloquial vernacular it’s quite simply, “Sit down and shut!”  Don’t stand up, don’t step out, don’t speak up, don’t speak out.  Don’t try to move forward.

Give up.

However, we can’t do that.  We can’t give in and give up.  We have to get up and get going.  We have to see the doubts, the fears, the negative situations, and anything that causes us to want to give up like a river we need to ford.

We can make our way through the waters of opposition that flow against us if we’ll:

1. Carefully choose where we stand – stand on the Truth of God’s Word
2. Get low – humble ourselves before God and ask for His help
3. Lean into the current – be strong and courageous, and don’t be a push-over
4. Take small steps – inch by inch life’s a cinch: yard by yard life is hard
5. Keep moving forward – persevere and press on toward the goal of God’s Kingdom in us and through us

Don’t sit down and shut up.

Stand up, and step out – wade through the waters of this world.  You have more strength than you realize!

1 Corinthians 15:57-58

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

2 Chronicles 15:7

“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”

Hebrews 10:35-36

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.  You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

Galatians 6:9

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

When I was 14 years old my youth leader did something that created a significant impact in my life.  Even though we were on a water-skiing weekend together it wasn’t the skiing that impacted me the most.  He gave me a book.  It was the kind of book you wouldn’t think was appropriate for a 14 year old kid who didn’t have a job, let alone a career.

The truth contained in the pages of that book was like seed sown into my heart that didn’t fully grow until many years later…

The book was, “Mover of Men and Mountains” – the story of R.G. LeTourneau.

Mr. LeTourneau was a very successful engineering genius who built a heavy duty earth hauling equipment empire.  His machinery helped win the Second World War and built much of the highway infrastructure in modern America.  He was an amazing man on many fronts.  Even though he only had a grade 7 education, by the end of his life he held over 300 patents.

His entire story I have long since forgotten, but one core conviction he held has stuck with me:

Our money is not “our” money – it’s God’s money.

God allows us to steward His money.  It’s not an issue of us determining how much of our money we give to God, it’s determining how much of God’s money we keep for ourselves.

Mr. LeTourneau put his money where his mouth was and instead of giving God a tithe of 10% of his gross income, he kept 10% of his gross income for himself and gave away 90% of his income.

When I became a member of my church at 18 I was taught about the principle of tithing.  I remembered the lesson I learned from Mr. LeTourneau years before this time – it’s not my money, it’s God’s money.  So, tithing was simply a matter of obedience for me.

God asks me to give back to Him a portion of my gross income as an indication of my trust in Him.

I then began to do some study on tithing and discovered some very important principles: 1. My tithe should be based on 10% of my gross income – pre-tax – the first fruits of my income.  2.  Not tithing is robbing God, and places me under a curse.

And the third principle I discovered was the most profound: Tithing is a form of spiritual warfare.

Tithing is really all about faith.  Do I believe God will provide for all my financial needs, or do I believe it’s up to me to take care of myself?  If I believe the former, then I gladly give the Lord – at a minimum – 10% of my gross income.  If I don’t trust God to provide for my needs then I can easily come to the conclusion that I can’t afford to tithe.

Nothing can be further from the truth – we can’t afford not to tithe.

God tells us in Malachi 3 that when we don’t give God 10% of our gross income we are robbing Him and are, therefore, under a curse.  And, if we bring “the whole tithe into the storehouse” God will bless us and “rebuke the devourer” for us.

That is the spiritual warfare!  The Lord actually says “test Me in this”!  Tithe and watch Him rebuke the devourer.

Like I said, we can’t afford not to tithe.  God invites us to trust Him – to put our money where our mouth is – and give Him the first fruits of our income.  How we manage our finances is a very interesting glimpse into what we believe.  Do we believe we can trust the Lord to provide for all our needs?  Or not?

Do we want to rob God and live under a curse, or tithe and have the Lord bless us and rebuke the devourer on our behalf?

Tithing is a matter of faith.  Like Mr. LeTourneau said, our money is not our money anyway – it’s God’s money He has entrusted to us.  How will we steward his resources?  Will we keep it for ourselves, or freely give the minimum the Lord has asked of us?

God wants His money – as an indication of our trust in Him.

Malachi 3:8-11

““Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the Lord of hosts.”

Philippians 4:19

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

2 Corinthians 9:6

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

Matthew 6:24

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”