Perhaps...

Just because I'm going to say this in three days:

"Perhaps" might be one of the most powerful words in the Kingdom.

It's something Jonathan said when the Israelites were pinned down by the Philistines (I Samuel 14) and Jonathan can't take it anymore so he tells his armor bearer that they're going to cross enemy lines and he says "Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf."

No assurances written on the sky.

No pre-confirmation of God's providence.

Just Jonathan saying to himself, "We've been doing nothing and nothing has happened. So I'll do SOMETHING." If it's the right thing, God will confirm it, if it's just me and my imagination, well, God will confirm that, too, right?

Gamaliel in Acts 5 says something similar about the Apostles (though, like Pontius Pilate and the High Priest, his statement which is intended to be critical or mocking, ends up being a Divine irony) after mentioning some other revolutionaries who came and went, he says: "For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."

Perhaps God will... That's a powerful statement of faith. It means to me that while I will rest in the sure knowledge of the Holy Character of God, I will not always need to have confirmation of an action BEFORE undertaking it. I will, as Pastor Steve likes to say, "Go until God says no."

Pehaps... a powerful word...