What an ending! Again, God came to the rescue of his people and used his prophet to let the people see. Did you wonder what ever happened to the lepers who had the privilege of seeing the results of God’s work? God had scared a whole army away so his people could be fed. Talk about making a statement!
These lepers feared something would happen to them if they kept this “secret” to themselves. Do you think that means they had the fear of the LORD? Yet their desperate hunger spoke louder than their faith or fear for they first feasted on the treasure they had found! Imagine the joy they felt! It would have been like Christmas morning as a kid!
But the king had a hard time believing it was God’s hand at work here. He was sure he was being tricked by the enemy. Because Israel’s king was ready to kill Elisha just a few verses back, we know he isn’t necessarily playing full-out on God’s team. At least, he realized Elisha was a man of God. I hope he recalled Elisha’s words of prophecy fulfilled that day and trusted God more.
Like most people, when things start going poorly in our lives, we often wonder where God is. Certainly, we see some of the tragedies around the world today and wonder how God can let it all happen. Just like God allowed the famine in Samaria. That wasn’t pleasant at all. In our last reading, we read about a woman eating her own child!
But God was glorified in the famine! He cleared out the enemy and provided in grand fashion for his starving children. Are we busy looking for God’s glory to shine in all our unbearable circumstances? While we would like immediate results, God’s timing is just that. God’s! Our place is to trust God. Israel’s king hadn’t figured that out.
We have all the stories in God’s word to give us hope and assurance that God is for us, not against us. Psalm 118:6 says, “The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” Romans 8:31 is another beautiful promise. “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” These “wonderful things” are the future glory God has in store for his adopted children, along with the power of the Holy Spirit we can tap into in the present. Romans 8 is such an amazing chapter!
Let’s pray …
Lord, there are plenty of things that can consume me in worry, but I choose to trust you. Forgive me for being inpatient and wanting my own way. Give me the wisdom to see what your will for my life is and then stay in it! I look forward to seeing your glorious solutions for the problems of this world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
