1 Samuel 14 devotes several verses (1–14) to a guy climbing a hill. There’s a little more to it than that, but that’s the way the story begins. Jonathan is the son of Israel’s king, and a lot of people have high expectations of him. He’s not convinced he can live up to them, and he doesn’t know what to do. So, he climbs a hill.
Before he figures out his day and where it will lead, there’s simply a decision to get started by doing something. He and a friend leave the camp quietly and begin walking a path leading up a hill. There are no speeches, questions, debates, or even ponderings. Just an understanding that sometimes, when we don’t know what to do, we have to begin by doing something. For Jonathan, that something meant getting away from the camp of expectations and going to a place where he could think.
What Jonathan says next is one of the most honest statements of faith in Scripture: “Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf.”
He doesn’t have answers. He hasn’t come up with a solution. He doesn’t have certainty. He’s holding onto faith. What he has is a “perhaps.”
We often imagine faith as confidence, but the Bible, more often than not, describes it as willingness or openness. Jonathan doesn’t know if God will act or, if God does, what God will do. He only knows that God doing nothing is not the same thing as trust.
Most of us live in our faith in the realm of “perhaps.” We have more questions than answers and more fear than confidence. The key is to remember to begin small. One step. A short climb. A decision to pause and trust before the outcome is clear.
And God seems to expect us to work that way.
Jonathan’s climb from 1 Samuel 14 teaches us that God often waits for us to begin climbing. Miracles seem to follow movement.
That may be all today asks of us. Nothing bold or dramatic. Just a first step taken without guarantees. A prayer offered that sounds more like hope than certainty.
“Perhaps the Lord will act.”
That sentence holds more faith than we often realize. It leaves room for God to be God—and for us to be human.
And perhaps… that’s enough.
Prayer: God, the cliffs I face, even the small decisions of daily living, challenge me. Too often, I try to face them on my own, forgetting that you are waiting for me to begin by getting to a quiet place where I can wait for you. Guide me to a place of trust in you where “perhaps” is enough because you are more than enough. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
