Yes . . . BUT . . . (by Cathe Laurie)

“And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron” (Judges 1:19 ESV).

The Difficulty of Faithfulness

We all want to be faith-filled people, right? We’d love to jump into God’s plan with a resounding “YES!”, fill the air with worship songs and skip along the path He’s laid before us like we’re Dorothy in the land of Oz.

It’s a beautiful desire! And yet, how many times do we make it partway down that yellow brick road, discover a roadblock and suddenly pause, hesitate, and question what God is doing?

Those moments are what I like to call our “Yes . . . BUT . . . ” times in life.

When Life Isn’t What We Expect

When God called Judah to face the Canaanites in Judges 1, Judah moved forward faithfully and won! Victory after victory, Judah experienced God’s power. One territory after another fell before him.

But then we get to Judges 1:19.

“And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron” (Judges 1:19 ESV).

Read that again: “He could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron.”

Basically, these Canaanites had more sophisticated military hardware, and the Israelites looked at it and said, “Well, now that’s a big problem.”

You almost want to look at them and say, “Excuse me?! What difference do chariots of iron make if the Almighty God is on your side?”

The Almighty had said, “I’ve given you this land.” Israel, in effect, said, “Yes, Lord, we heard you—but have You seen their military equipment?”

We All Doubt God

We all have our own iron chariots.

Yes Lord, You told me to forgive them. But did you see how much they hurt me?

Yes Lord, You told me to turn from sexual temptation. But don’t you know how good it feels?

Yes Lord, You told me not to be angry. But that’s just who I am; I can’t help it.

Yes Lord, You told me to give generously. But did you see that new bill I have to pay?

Yes Lord, You told me to step out in faith. But there are just too many unknowns.

What We Should Do Amid Doubt

Here’s what we have to remember: When we focus on the chariots, we will always lose. We will always turn away. Our hesitation isn’t going to change God’s mind; it’s only going to make our journey that much harder. Judah’s reluctance became the start of a long line of struggle for Israel, and a delay in experiencing the promise God had set before them.

Israel was looking at the chariots. God was asking them to look at Him.

Faith Means Believing God Is Bigger Than Perceived Obstacles 

Faith doesn’t mean pretending the chariots aren’t real. Faith means believing God is bigger than them. Faith means believing that when He calls, He’s already crafted the answer to every problem we may encounter. Faith is believing He is bigger, He is stronger, He is mightier than anything that will come our way!

Where has your focus turned? Which iron chariots have filled your perspective? Where are you saying, “I can’t,” when God is saying, “No . . . you won’t”?

I promise you, friend, He is so much bigger than whatever you are facing! Trust Him. Submit to Him. And He will follow through.

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Cathe Laurie is the founder and director of the Virtue women’s ministry. She is also a featured speaker on The Virtue Podcast, at Harvest events, and the author of As I See It. You can find her weekly articles here on harvest.org.