Is there not a cause?

I Samuel 17 was shared in our Sunday morning service today, as part of a message on missions. The context of this passage is when the Philistine giant, Goliath, was shouting threats and blasphemy to the Israelite people over the course of forty days. He openly defied the army of Israel and in turn the God of Israel. His might and security was in his size, the savageness with which he could fight, and the power in his sword and spear.

With good cause, the Israelites were greatly frightened. Goliath wasn't the only deadly warrior in the Philistine army. There is historical record the the Philistine people in general were greater in size than the average man. So, picture an enormous, savage warrior army railing against your people and your God with open hatred and zero sign of fear of defeat. In all honesty, I would have been terrified too! How much easier to surrender or even better yet, turn around and run! Frightening enough to be on the opposite side of a valley. Close enough to hear the man yell.

That is when David appears. A shepherd, not a soldier. A boy, not yet a man. The only person in the whole of the Israelite camp that was willing to take a stand against this heathen warrior. His brothers openly scorned him, saying that he was only there for his own vain glory. To make for himself a name. But this passage shows the heart of David in complete transparency. His view of the scene was this - a giant, but still just a man, is openly and repeatedly defying my God. The God of all creation. And not a single man in this army has the faith to believe that God will give us the victory. Do we not believe in the power and righteousness of our God? 

Verse 29 cuts to the heart of the matter in response to his brothers' ridiculous accusations, "And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?" Is there not a cause, a reason, a fight here that the Lord would honor? David knew that in his own life, the Lord had proven himself faithful. Physically allowing him to defeat a bear and a lion, but also spiritually he had been preserved. And now in the face of blasphemy, he walked out to Goliath. Just a boy. With just a sling in his hand.

Goliath shouted at him and accused the Israelites of sending a "dog" to fight him with staves or sticks. David's response is one that thrills my heart every time I read it, "Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands." (I Samuel 17:45-47)

That was the cause! That all the earth may know that there is a God! It was not to prove that Israel was superior, had a better army, or fought a better fight. It was that there is a God. One God. That was the cause.

In relation to missions, there is a cause. The very same cause that David fought for. That all the earth may know that there is a God. By the world's standards, my husband and I don't have a lot of "stuff". We live in a small apartment. We drive used cars. I shop mostly at the Goodwill or thrift store for clothes and Aldi for groceries. My husband works long, hard hours at a small Christian school for very little pay. The world cannot imagine why on earth, we would sacrifice in these ways. We have both fielded hurtful comments about why we don't get better paying jobs, why we choose to be "poor" according to the world's standards. Some are spoken in ignorance and some in disgust. To be completely honest, for a long time I tried to make excuses and have a plan for how we would get to the "next step" in life. A house of our own, more money, etc. But the Lord has been speaking to my heart, and those excuses stop now. The Lord has always provided what we need. Always. Without my help or my plan.

My answer is this - it is our mission field, our cause. We work at a small, Christian school in order to be able to invest in the lives of young people daily, to plant the Word of God in their hearts, to counsel and provide Godly guidance, to build character in their lives. It is the greatest job that the Lord could ever assign. The greatest "sacrifice" that the Lord could ever ask of us. I would not trade the eternal seed that is being sown daily for all the "stuff" in the world. We are so very rich. To have a student from six years priors, remember your phone number and call to say that you made a difference in their life, that they remembered a Bible study you led, that your exhortation brought them out of a particularly dark time in their life. That is our cause. This is our ministry.

My question for you is this, Is there not a cause in your life? What is your mission field? What has the Lord called you to do? Because there is a cause in your life. There is a mission field. Don't be fooled into thinking that just because you're not a "full-time" missionary, you are not also on the mission field. Our cause has so little to with what we have and where we are, but instead it has everything to do with being willing to share the Gospel any time, any where, at any cost. While a job pays the bills and allows us to be supported financially, it is just a way to get you into the environment that God wants you to be. A house is nice and provides shelter, but it is just a way to get you into the neighborhood that God wants you to be. They are just things. It is not coincidence the people that you rub shoulders with once, occasionally, or daily. God has give you a cause, a purpose, a fight. Our security is not in money; it is in Jesus Christ. My future is in His hands.

"I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." Psalm 37:25 On the days that I fear we will not have the money to pay bills or fix a car, I remember this passage. If we are seeking His face, living in His will. There is nothing that the Lord cannot provide. Is a fear of not having what the world thinks is enough holding you back from serving Him "full-time"? The righteous will not be forsaken. I urge you to consider the cause in your life. Have you found it yet? My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus' blood and righteousness.