2 Kings 7:2,20: “So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God [Elisha] and said, “Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” And [Elisha] said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it . . . And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.”

August 1st, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Syria besieged Samaria to the point of famine. It became so severe that the people inside the city even began to eat their own children. Elisha proclaimed that the Lord would deliver them overnight and that by the next day, they would find themselves with an abundance of food. The king’s officer denounced such a deliverance as totally unreasonable. He was a skeptic and scoffer, and could not get his mind around the possibility that God was able to deliver on such a promise. This is often our biggest problem with God-issues as well—our own intellect. When we face a difficult situation in our life, our reaction is often to limit God’s abilities to what our mind tells us He can or should do to work out our problem. Sometimes we are even arrogant enough to claim there is no answer or solution.

Outside the city gates were 4 lepers. They knew they’d starve if they went into the city or if they stayed at the gate, so they decided to take their chances with the Syrian camp, the only place that had food. When they arrived, they found it completely abandoned. God had miraculously caused the Syrians to think they were being attacked, and they had run, leaving everything behind. These lepers had a go-for-broke attitude. It’s the same kind of attitude we should have when it comes to sharing our good news with people, especially since we often have to deal with the thanks-but-no-thanks response. The lepers had great attitudes and simply rejoiced, drinking in their great blessing. They also had a sense of accountability and integrity, which we also need in sharing the good news. They realized that it was wrong not to share the banquet with other people.

There is a lesson to be learned here from the lepers and the king’s officer, who was trampled to death as the people went out the gate to get to the food the lepers had found. What kind of a person are we going to be in life? Are we going to be like the lepers, who ventured out with nothing to lose and all to gain and made the greatest discovery of their lives? Or are we going to be like the king’s officer, who scoffed at God’s promise, refused to believe His word, and missed out on His blessing?

“LORD, forgive us our prideful attitude that tries to tell You how to work in our lives. You be LORD today we ask, in Jesus’ name.”