Move Forward
In 2 Kings 6, here is a story of how a great famine came to Samaria due to the besiegement of the Syrian army. The situation was so terrible that people starting boiling up their children to eat. Then the word of the Lord came to Elisha saying “Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour will sell for a shekel and two measures of barley for a shekel in the gate of Samaria” (2 kings 7:1). This sounded too good to be true that the captain of the king said such could never happen even if the windows of heaven are opened. Indeed, the current situation must have been that bad!
There were 4 lepers who were at the entrance of the city’s gate. Remember that lepers usually had their colonies outside the city and were not allowed to mix with the people in the city. Since the situation was so bad in Samaria, the lepers decided to examine their situation and see what options they had.
They were already outcasts and since going back to the city or remaining where they were was only going to bring death eventually, they decided they would take their chance and go towards the camp of the Syrian army. With them moving forward, they had a chance of living (if the Syrians spared their lives) or dying (if the Syrians killed them). Either way, they would have eventually died if they remained or went into the city.
Guess what? They chose the latter to move towards the Syrian Army. That there, is a huge step of faith. It reminds me of what Esther said before approaching the king, “If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16)
To their amazement, when they got to the camp of the Syrians, no one was present. God had caused the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots, horses and a great army and they fled for their lives, leaving everything in their camps, from gold, clothes, food and drinks. WOW! You can guess what these lepers did: they ate, drank, took and hid lots of valuables, before they went into the city to inform the king’s household.
What current situation are you in that seems like there is no hope? Is the temptation to return back to your past, your Egypt, just like the children of Israel?. Is the temptation to just remain stagnant where you are? Is the current role/relationship/job/situation you are in not moving forward and there is no future attached to it but moving away seems scary? The thought of moving forward has a lot of unknowns and as such, lots of fear of the unknowns. You may be thinking, ‘Would things get better if I move on, if i decide to take that step or would it become even worse? . Has the lord given you a vision and the next step has a lot of unknowns, which is outside your comfort zone? What do you have to lose? Neither going back nor staying in the same spot without progress is going to turn things around. Take that leap of faith and move forward. The bible says the steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord (Psalms 37:23)
God had gone ahead to pave the way but someone was needed to make the announcement. This reminds me of an analogy my pastor mentioned: Opportunities are sometimes like an automatic sliding door that only opens when you get close to it.
Yes, God had spoken the words of prophecy through Elisha but if the lepers never went to the camp of the enemy, the Israelites might never have discovered that the Syrians had fled and all they left behind could have wasted. Someone’s destiny is tied to yours and they are just waiting for you to take a step forward.
Taking a leap of faith by the lepers gave them an edge advantage over others as they could take and store as many things as they could plunder from the Syrians without any form of competition from the rest of the Israelites. What unique and unconventional idea has God given you? This might be what would positively announce you to the world. Take that step of faith and move forward!
For your steps to be ordered by the Lord, you need to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. If you will like to make this decision today, please say this prayer:
“Lord Jesus Christ, I believe you are the Son of God and I believe You died for me on the cross of Calvary. I know I am a sinner and today, I come to You to forgive me of all my sins and to make me a brand new creation. I accept You as my personal Lord and Saviour. Thank you Lord for forgiving me and making me born again, in Jesus name, Amen”.
Congratulations!!!! You are now a born-again Christian (It simply means a new born baby in Christ and there is celebration in heaven right now because of YOU!)
If you made this decision, please leave a comment on this post or reach out to us at https://www.cccghq.org/contact/
By: Pastor Ibukun Adewusi