November 17 Get Up

November 17

Get Up

2 Kings 7:3-5 Now there were four men who were lepers  at the entrance to the gate. And they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die? 4 If we say, 'Let us enter the city,' the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die." 5 So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians. But when they came to the edge of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no one there.

YOU may have heard the saying, "If you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you've always got." This attributed to any number of people, but regardless of its origin, what matters is the point it makes. If you want to change something in your life, you need to change either the things you do or the way you do things. 

    The four lepers in this Scripture are a good illustration of this truism. Considering the conditions of Samaria in the midst of great starvation, we can wonder how the lepers who survive on handouts have survived to this point. Apparently they are resourceful men. Now they look at their circumstances - starving Samaria behind them and the deadly enemy Syrians before them. What do they do to survive - or perhaps have less chance of dying?

    At this point because there is no food in Samaria, their only hope is a dim hope to go to the Syrians to possibly receive food. Possibly, just maybe, the Syrians will feed them instead of kill them. Hope's light is dim, but at least it is visible.

    So then, the lepers decide to do something different. So they get up and go to Syria's army encampment instead of Samaria's starving city. Then see what they find. The enemy is gone from this camp. We will see God has opened a door to provisions to feed thousands people.

    Do you feel the despair and tension in the lepers' heart turn to relief, then to anticipation, then to excitement? Acting into the smallest light of hope, the overwhelming light of physical salvation begins to pour over them. They are about to get something different. Because they got up togo into the siggle small ray of hope before them, they are beginning to discover God's salvation from their hunger.  

    Certainly the Holy Spirit urged them to go to the Syrians. Their obedient going, the change in what they did every day produced a grand and glorious difference in their lives. Even more, their discovery will bring salvation to the city Samaria.  

    This story is a picture of God's grace to point us to the hope of Jesus Christ. So often we become starved of Jesus' salvation because we do what we always do. Our daily habits can easily keep us from Jesus as we ignore such means of grace as prayer, the Bible, and fellowship with other Christians. We must intentionally get up each day to see what form of abundance God has prepared for us. We miss too often the feast of his love, joy, faith, and hope as we often keep our eyes on how we always have done things.

    What different thing do you need to do each day to experience the bounty of Jesus' salvation?

Prayer: Help me, Lord, to get up and go into your blessings each day. In Jesus' name, amen.