30/07/2026
*BY MANY OR BY FEW*
The God Who Is Not Limited by Your Resources
Text: 1 Samuel 14:6
"…for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few." (KJV)
Beloved, many people never lose the battle because the enemy is stronger—they lose because they convince themselves they can never win. Before the first step is taken, before the first prayer is prayed, before the first attempt is made, they have already surrendered because they measured the size of the obstacle against the size of their resources.
But God's mathematics has never worked like ours.
We look at what we have; God looks at who He is.
We count our money; God counts our faith.
We calculate our limitations; God declares His unlimited power.
That is why Jonathan could stand before an impossible situation and confidently say, "It may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few."
What an extraordinary declaration! Jonathan understood something that many believers still struggle to grasp today: victory is never determined by numbers but by the presence and power of God.
Israel's situation was desperate. The Philistines possessed overwhelming military superiority. They had the weapons, the training, and the advantage. Fear had gripped the entire nation. Many Israelites had abandoned the battlefield and hidden themselves in caves, thickets, rocks, and pits. Saul sat beneath a pomegranate tree with only six hundred frightened men. Even worse, Scripture tells us that only Saul and Jonathan possessed swords. The rest of the army was practically defenseless.
By every human calculation, defeat was certain.
Yet while everyone else saw impossibility, Jonathan saw opportunity.
Without consulting a committee...
Without waiting for reinforcements...
Without demanding better conditions...
He turned to his armour-bearer and said, "Come, let us go over."
His confidence was never in the sword he carried but in the God he served. Faith does not wait until circumstances become favorable. Faith moves because God is faithful.
One thing about Jonathan stands out to me. He refused to let fear make his decisions. He did not sit under the pomegranate tree calculating the odds until discouragement overwhelmed him. He did not spend his time discussing how many soldiers the Philistines had or how few weapons Israel possessed.
He got up.
He moved.
He acted.
Faith that never moves is not biblical faith. It is merely agreement with truth. Genuine faith always produces corresponding action.
That is why Jonathan said, "Come, let us go over."
Not, "Let's wait until conditions improve."
Not, "Let's see what happens."
Not, "Maybe someone else will do it."
He simply said, "Let us go."
Sooner or later, every believer arrives at that moment when they must stop counting the size of the problem and start considering the greatness of their God.
Notice something else that reveals Jonathan's spiritual maturity. He said, "It may be that the LORD will work for us." That was not doubt. That was humility. Jonathan was not trying to command God or presume upon Him. He simply believed that God was able, and he was willing to obey whether he understood everything or not.
Real faith does not demand that God explain every detail before we obey.
Real faith simply says, "Lord, if You have spoken, I will move."
Obedience does not require complete understanding.
It requires complete trust.
Many of us miss God's miracles because we are waiting for the entire roadmap while God is only asking us to take the next step. He rarely reveals the whole journey at once. He gives enough light for today's obedience, and tomorrow's light comes after today's step.
This is the lesson every believer must settle in their heart: God has never required abundance before He could perform a miracle. He is not restricted by your bank account. He is not limited by your education. He is not dependent upon your connections. He is not waiting for your resources to increase before His power can be released.
Jonathan never said, "Let us wait until we have more soldiers."
He never said, "When we get better weapons, then we'll fight."
He simply believed that God could accomplish with two men what others thought required thousands.
The Hebrew word translated "restraint" means to be hindered, confined, or held back. Jonathan was declaring a profound theological truth: nothing can restrain God's ability to save. Our limitations never become God's limitations.
This has always been God's pattern throughout Scripture.
When God called Gideon, He deliberately reduced his army from thirty-two thousand to only three hundred—not because three hundred were sufficient, but because God wanted everyone to know that the victory belonged to Him alone. If Israel had won with thirty-two thousand soldiers, they might have claimed the glory. But with only three hundred, they could only say, "The Lord has done this."
The same principle appears in David's victory over Goliath. David did not overcome the giant because he possessed superior weapons. He defeated Goliath because he possessed superior confidence in God. While everyone else saw a giant too big to fight, David saw a giant too big to miss. The sling was ordinary. The stone was ordinary. But the God behind the stone was extraordinary. As David declared, "The battle is the LORD'S."
Then there was the little boy who surrendered five loaves and two fish. His lunch was insignificant by every human standard, yet in the hands of Jesus it became more than enough to feed thousands. The miracle was never in the lunch. The miracle was always in the Lord who blessed it.
Perhaps today you are saying, "I don't have enough money. I don't know enough people. I'm too old. I'm too young. My business is too small. My church is too small. My family has too many problems."
Those limitations may be real, but they are only your limitations. They are not God's.
If God could use two men against an army...
If He could use three hundred against thousands...
If He could use one shepherd against a giant...
If He could use five loaves to feed a multitude...
Then surely He can use what you have today.
God has never asked us to bring enough.
He only asks us to bring what we have and trust Him to make it enough.
Perhaps God has placed a dream in your heart—a business to start, a ministry to build, a family relationship to restore, or an assignment that seems far bigger than your present ability. Yet every time you think about it, you immediately look at what you do not have. You look at your account balance, your qualifications, your lack of connections, and even your past failures. Then you conclude that it cannot be done.
But hear the Word of the Lord today: stop measuring your assignment by your resources. Measure it by the greatness of the God who called you.
Sometimes we spend our lives waiting for an army when God is waiting for our obedience.
Jonathan only had one companion, yet after those two men stepped forward in faith, God stepped into the battle. The Bible says that the earth began to quake and panic spread throughout the Philistine camp. The earthquake did not come before Jonathan moved. It came after he obeyed.
Could it be that the breakthrough you have been praying for is waiting on your next step of faith?
Never forget this: lack is often the very stage upon which God chooses to display His glory.
If Jonathan had marched with thousands of soldiers, people could have credited military strength. But when two men routed an entire garrison, everyone knew only God could have done it.
Sometimes God intentionally allows our resources to be small so that His glory may be seen more clearly.
So let your confession sound like Jonathan's, not like those hiding in caves.
While fear says, "We don't have enough,"
Faith declares,
"Our God is more than enough."
Perhaps today you are standing before your own Michmash. Maybe your battle is financial. Maybe it concerns your family, your health, your ministry, or the vision God has placed in your heart. The opposition looks overwhelming. The resources seem insufficient. The people standing with you are few. Perhaps you even feel completely alone.
But hear the promise of God once again:
"There is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few."
God has not changed.
The God who gave victory through Jonathan is still the same today.
He is not looking for a multitude.
He is looking for men and women who will trust Him enough to move.
He is not asking whether your resources are sufficient.
He is asking whether your faith is alive.
So rise today.
Take the step He has been asking you to take.
Pray the prayer.
Make the call.
Launch the vision.
Forgive the offender.
Share the Gospel.
Obey His voice.
And declare with unwavering confidence:
"It may be that the LORD will work for me, for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few."
As God did at Michmash, may your simple act of obedient faith become the doorway to a supernatural demonstration of His power. When God arises, what seemed impossible becomes inevitable. And when the victory comes, no one will be able to say, "Look what they accomplished."
There will be only one testimony:
"The Lord has done great things for them."
