Judges 1:3
And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.
There are many faithless actions that Israel exhibited that many believers exhibit today. The lack of faith is not a generational thing; it is a result of sinful people. There have been people who have lacked faith from the Garden of Eden to this day. If we are not careful, we make it sound as if there were people of great faith in one generation but none in the present generation. There have always been people in every generation who lacked the faith to do the right thing. For instance, there were only eight people in the world who had faith to step onto the ark in Noah’s day. There were only three hundred men who had faith in Gideon’s day to fight the great Midianite army. There were only two men of faith, Jonathan and his armor-bearer, who fought the Philistine army. There was only one man of faith in David’s day when Goliath stood and challenged God’s army. We could write pages of examples of the remnant of people in every generation who had faith among the multitudes of faithless people. Let me share the Scriptural examples of the actions of the faithless.
First, an unwillingness to go alone with God is a faithless action. The demise in the book of Judges was when the tribe of Judah was unwilling to go alone because of their lack of faith in God’s power. I am not against people going together as a team, but to feel a team can do better than an individual with God shows your lack of faith in God’s power. Many missionaries have chosen to go on a team rather than going alone with God, only to see minimal results. The greatest missionaries of all time went alone with God, and their faith proved that God can use one person to reach thousands.
Second, stopping short of all that God wants you to do is a faithless action. Israel did not utterly drive out the Canaanites because they felt they were strong enough to put them to tribute, which was an action that lacked the faith to go all the way with what God commanded them to do. Anytime you don't do all God wants you to do is a revelation of your lack of faith. If God tells you to do something, never stop short because you can't see how it can be done. God is very capable of taking you further if you will choose not to stop and live in the land of ease. Many have chosen the comfortable life because they got tired of fighting to advance only to miss God’s miracles in their lives. Never let ease be your choice over faith.
Third, not believing it can be done is a faithless action. Verse 19 says that Judah could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley. My belief is the could not was Judah’s decision and not God’s inability to drive out these people. To say it can't be done is to say God’s power is unable to do the impossible. To say it can't be done is your decision and not God’s inability to do the impossible. God can still do it today if we choose not to stop.
The faithless actions of Israel led to their eventual compromise. Faithless actions always lead to compromise and godless living. Never allow these faithless actions to be a part of your life if you don't want those you influence to compromise and live a worldly lifestyle. It only takes a remnant of people who act on the faith to attempt the impossible to show everyone that God still can.
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