"why sit here until we die"(pt.3)

Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say, 'We will enter the city,' the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come , let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die." And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses--the noise of a great army; so they ( the Syrians) said to one another,"Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!" Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact--their tents, their horses, and their donkeys--and they fled for their lives.

2 Kings 7: 3-7

"what have we got to lose?"

In the previous posts, I wrote about the siege of the Syrians on Samaria, the famine, depraved activity and desperate conditions in the land, all brought on by Israel’s rebellion against God. Relying on their own devices and resource, rather than hearing and obeying the Word of the Lord. “Succeed or die trying“, “try, and try again”, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going” are a couple of examples of sayings people in the world use, to express their resolve and determination in desperate situations, apart from God.

In todays scriptures, we find four lepers, sitting outside the city, at the gate. Outcasts from Israel because of their disease. Shunned by the world, also. Leprosy, in Old Testament typology was a type of sin, that was so horribly desperate, that Israel thought a leper was hopeless. How many people today, find themselves in such a state of hopelessness, and in a desperate condition, feeling so helpless, thinking that there is no relief in sight? Even Christians, can fall into this condition, when the focus of their Faith is misplaced. Inspite of what we think or feel, there is no condition,or situation, that the Lord cannot change!

How many have given up, how many have quit? In 1 Timothy 6:12 the Apostle Paul admonishes us to “fight the good fight of Faith “. Our adversary, satan is continually at work to weaken, and destroy our Faith, and he uses any means necessary to do so. Sin opens the door for him, and he seizes the opportunity. Only in addressing the issues in our lives and keeping a proper focus of Faith, can we gain the victory. But Faith requires action. In the book of James, he states “ Faith without works, is dead”.

The four lepers expressed this concept, in their plan, they knew they had nothing to lose. Stay where they were at and they would die, go into the city, they would die, for sure. But if they went to the Syrian camp, they could possibly be killed, or be taken prisoners and be fed. Their action was an expression of faith, albeit misdirected. They knew the urgency of the times they were in.

We today are in desperate times, our Faith requires action. Many people are hurting, both in the world, and in the body of believers. But God's Grace is sufficient, and His Power is greater than any situation or issues we have. His shed Blood makes us white as snow, and perfect in God's Eyes. The people of the world,need the answer for all the issues of life, and that's the Good News of Jesus' Sacrifice on the Cross, for us to have Life more abundantly, in Him. We, the Church, regardless of what the world thinks, our flesh worries about, or the devil lies about, must remind ourselves of the Lord's commision. To share His Gospel, be His witnesses, and make disciples, helping people struggling through this life, lost, and possibly hopeless.

Scriptures tell us in Phillipians 2:7, that Jesus made Himself of no reputation, He didn't worry about what people thought, only about fulfilling the will of His Father in Heaven. Let us remember, that the Lord is always with us, leading us, guiding us, and empowering us to accomplish all He calls us to do. After all, if God is for us,"what have we got to lose"?