Sunday, June 10, 2012

It Isn’t a Lack of Faith


I am continuing a short series on what God has been teaching me about His ways.  As I learn more I am able to trust more and therefore lean more on Him in  my times of desparation.  You can read the beginning of this series here.


When I learned about my job situation I begin to ask God a lot of questions:

“Why?”

“Why now?” My whole family is serving you. I pray expectantly. I attend church regularly. I teach bible study. I work VBS. I am the women’s ministry director and I share my testimony at every opportunity.

“What are you trying to teach me? “

“Is this the result of a sin?”

“Where is my faith lacking?”

4:1 One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.”

As I read 2 Kings 4:1, my heart breaks for this poor widow (and myself). Here she is not only a woman that has just lost her husband but before he passed they had become “a member of the group of prophets.” The best way I can describe this group of prophets (after much study) is to liken it to our modern day seminary. They had given up a lot to study under Elisha. We don’t know exactly but I imagine that they had to move, leave family and go into debt. After all of that, all of their dedication to want to serve the Lord the husband dies. Not only does the husband die but the creditors come to take her sons into slavery as debt payment. (think if you couldn’t pay your Visa bill that you would lose your kids)

Widow was not in this situation due to the fact that her family was rebellious against God. It doesn’t appear that this was any type of judgment against. And I don’t see that is was a situation brought on by their making a bad decision. Yet she does find herself, one who feared the Lord, in a desperate time.

We all find ourselves in times of desperate need. This is one of the ways God works.

I have always lifted up what my friend calls breathe prayers. You know the little short “I need this or God do that” type of prayer. Before I faced my various times of desperation I never knew what it was to cry out to God. To lie at the church alter with tears flowing as if from a faucet. What is was to cry to God for so long that I would lose my voice. There are times when I can’t imagine a way that things will work out but God has His way. I won’t say that I enjoyed walking through the valleys of my past nor the current one but I will tell you that I would not trade all He has did or all that he taught me for anything.



What desperate need are you facing? Can you accept it as His way? If not, then pray for God you show you His love, comfort and provision as you walk through this time.

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