Crazy Faith

2 Corinthians 5:13-15 NLT 13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

I’ve heard a friend say this term a couple of times – “Crazy Faith”. Actually, she said it just the other night, before I left for a hiking trip that I will admit, I was dreading just a little. So, it was fresh on my mind when I started climbing up that very big mountain, because I was in need of some “Crazy Faith” to get up the side of that mountain!

As I hike, my thoughts tend to drift off to stories I’ve read in the Bible and coupled with this thought from my friend, I asked God to open my mind to what that could possibly mean – “Crazy Faith”. There’s so many Bible stories that could apply, but God caused me to focus in on one.

It’s a story found in 1 Samuel, chapter 30. It’s a story about King David – after he was anointed king by the prophet Samuel – but before he officially took the throne. He was on the run from King Saul, whom he was to replace on the throne.

David and his men had grown tired of running from Saul. So, they decided to hook up with the enemy of Saul – the Philistines – knowing that the king would stop pursuing them if he knew they were riding with the enemy. And it worked – he stopped chasing them.

David and his 600 men and their families lived somewhat peacefully, for years, in the lands of the Philistines. They were even given their own town – Ziklag. But they were at the beck and call of King Aschish. They occasionally had to fight battles for the Philistine king, but in doing so they grew wealthy and earned the love and respect of their new king.

One day as the Philistines were preparing to fight none other than the Hebrew King, Saul himself, King Aschish told David and his men, they had to join in the fight against their fellow Hebrews. Quite a dilemma for David, I’m sure. For years, he did everything he could NOT to harm Saul and his family. Even though he had many chances and could have had the throne already,

David had a soft spot for Saul, and especially Saul’s son, Jonathon. He determined in his heart not to harm them. But David - in obedience to his new king – agreed and joined the ranks.

However, once the commanders of the Philistine armies learned that David was joining them, they became afraid that it was a trap – that David and his men would turn on them, once the battle began. So, King Achish caved in - David and his men were sent home.

Oddly, David felt dejected. I would have thought this was a clear sign to him that God was protecting him from being a part of harming Saul. You know as well as I do, that the Philistines would likely have forced him to strike the blow that would kill Saul – as a way of confirming he truly was on their side. But he was spared. Yet, still he wasn’t happy about it, and sauntered off home – maybe even pouting a bit.

Things took a turn for the worse, when David and his men arrived to their town of Ziklag and discovered it burned to the ground and all their wives, children, livestock and wealth had been taken by the Amalekites! It wasn’t long after, that David realized his “loyal” men were ready to stone him. They clearly were hungry for battle and were ready to vent their anger and blood lust on someone – including their own leader.

So, here David found himself dejected – a bit depressed – threatened – definite possibility of losing his life – and completely unsure of what to do. Ever been there?

So, what did he do? Well, according to 1 Samuel 30:6, “He STRENGTHENED himself, in the LORD, HIS GOD”! We’ll come back to this in a minute.

David then sought God, and received word from the Lord, to pursue the marauders. He and his men hit the trail. Shortly they encountered an Egyptian slave who had been left behind, due to an illness. David’s kindness towards the man caused him to open-up and tell David exactly where his master and the marauders were headed. He even agreed to lead them to them under the condition, he wouldn’t be killed or given back to his former master.

The slave led David and his men straight to the Amalekites, who just happened to be in the middle of a party – celebrating their plunder. David and his men rushed in and destroyed them all! They found their families unharmed and retrieved their property, plus the property of the Amalekites! Not only did they get their own stuff back, but also all the wealth of the bad guys too!

So, let’s go back to the “Crazy Faith” part of this story. When everything was stacked against him, what did David do? 1 Samuel 30:6, says, “He STRENGTHENED HIMSELF, IN THE LORD, HIS GOD”!

While all the other men in his army were grieving their loss, David “encouraged himself” in the LORD his GOD!

David took a stroll through memory. I think he reflected back on when God gave him the supernatural strength to kill a lion and a bear – with his own hands – when he was just a kid! And what about the time, when God gave him the supernatural ability to kill the giant, Goliath, when he was STILL just a kid!

The scripture doesn’t specify this, but I think it’s safe to assume, that David recalled time after time, that God showed up for him in the past. Times when God empowered him to do things that blow the human mind! How else can one “encourage himself”?

Not only did David reflect on his past victories, but he owned and acknowledged the truth - that the God of Israel - was HIS personal God! So much throughout the Old Testament, God is just referred to as the God of the Hebrews, but now David declares his belief that the Lord is HIS God!

And once David was strengthened in his faith - that God always has his back – THEN he approached the throne of the one and only, true God – in FAITH! Imagine that! We have a part to play in how we approach God.

Matthew 21:22 Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.

John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Mark 11:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

God spoke back to David and told him exactly what to do. David obeyed. And David and ALL his men were restored ALL that was theirs, and MORE! All plus ALL = MORE!

I don’t know about you, but that made me choke up as I thought of this, especially while hiking up the side of a mountain, that was needless to say, daunting! Even now, Ephesians 3:20 comes to mind, “Now unto HIM THAT IS ABLE to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think…”.

Crazy faith is believing that God is for you, when the world is coming against you. Crazy faith is believing that the God of Abraham, Jacob & Isaac cares just as much about you as He did them. Crazy faith is knowing in the deepest part of your heart that God sent His son to die on the cross so that you could be free.

Why do we put God in a box? Why do we continue to expect so little of a God that wants to rock our world with HIS wonders – just like He did for David?

Is it “Crazy Faith” to believe that God would go so above and beyond for us, or is it just crazy to believe so little of him?

Picture by Miranda Beal

Verses to ponder:

2 Corinthians 5:13-21 NLT 13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. 16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.