MEMORISE: But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his
eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make
you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10
READ: 2KINGS 7:1-10.
1 Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the
LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold
for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of
Samaria.
2 Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God,
and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this
thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but
shalt not eat thereof.
3 And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?
4 If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the
city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now
therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they
save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.
5 And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the
Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of
Syria, behold, there was no man there.
6 For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of
chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and
they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us
the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon
us.
7 Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their
tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and
fled for their life.
8 And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they
went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver,
and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered
into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.
9 Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of
good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning
light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may
go and tell the king’s household.
10 So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told
them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there
was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied,
and the tents as they were.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: JEREMIAH 5: 14-7: 29 ; PSALM 44: 17-26.
A child of God has every right to expect a glorious tomorrow, even if
the present situation does not in any way make such optimism look
realistic. In the face of uncertainty and the total economic collapse of
a country, the believer who knows his God will still rightly expect a
change for the better, because he knows he serves a God who specialises
in giving pleasant surprises to His children. The story of 2 Kings 6
& 7 is not fictional, though it may look incredible. The famine that
resulted from the siege of Samaria by its enemies became so devastating
that mothers were surviving on their own children. What a terrible
thing! Have you ever thought about it: even Elisha the great man of God
was in the midst of the situation as others? One thing you can be sure
of is that God would have taken care of him for as long as the famine
lasted; though that aspect of the story is not revealed in the Bible. In
the same way, the Lord is able to take care of you in the midst of any
crises, only make sure you trust in Him and obey Him in all things. Pay
your tithes, win souls and live holy.
We should not cease trusting God in the place of prayer for desirable
changes in the state of affairs of our country as we seek to do His
will in all things. In the case of Samaria, God brought about a change
within 24 hours at the peak of their national predicament of insecurity
that resulted in acute want. By the mouth of His servant, God pronounced
great abundance upon the land. This pronouncement brought to an end
both the insecurity and the famine of the land ( 2 Kings 7 : 1 & 18
). So will Boko Haram and its activities be brought to a sudden end in
Nigeria in Jesus’ Name. On the other hand, being expectant does not
imply sitting down and doing nothing; in the case of Samaria, it took
the rising up of four lepers, who decided to go to the camp of the
Syrians, only to discover that the Syrians had fled their camp, leaving
all their supplies behind. There is always a place of action to your
faith, just as the Bible in James 2 : 17 says:
“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”
Are you in need of a good job? You have got to take the right step of
action. Do you want your business to be more competitive? Diligently
get to know what action to take and take it.
ACTION POINT:
Praise God for His mercy over Nigeria. Pray for the forgiveness of
sins for Nigeria and that God will grant her political leaders the fear
of God and the wisdom to run the country.
AUTHOR: Pst E. A ADEBOYE.
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