Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
MTVEA: Do the work of an Evangelist
2 Kings 7:3-11“Then they said to each other. “We are not right. This is a day of good news
and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment
will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace” (v. 9)
We can see that so many people, inside and outside the Bible, who were afflicted with various kinds of infirmities were tools in the hands of God for His divine purposes. Discouragement, hopelessness, despair - so many situations in this fallen world can make us feel sad. Problems and struggles can wear us down physically, mentally, and spiritually, and can even erode our faith in God.
William Cowper, though a Christian, had sunk to the depths of despair. One foggy and dark night, he called a carriage and asked to be taken to the London Bridge on the famous Thames River. He was so overcome by depression that he intended to commit suicide. After few hours of driving through the mist, Cowper’s coachman confessed that he was lost. Disgusted by the turn of events, Cowper left the carriage and decided to find the Bridge on foot. After walking a short distance, he discovered that he was standing at his own doorstep. Recognizing the restraining hand of God and convicted by the Spirit, Cowper realized that the way out of his troubles was to look to God, not jump into the river. With gratitude he sat down and wrote these reassuring words: “God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. O fearful saint, fresh courage take; the clouds you so much dread are big with mercy, and shall break in blessings on your head.” Cowper’s hymn of gratitude has comforted many of God’s people since the eighteenth century.
The psalmist David wrote that we are weak and needy creatures, yet the Lord thinks of us, hears our cries, brings us up out of horrible places, sets out our feet on rock, and puts a song of praise in our mouths (Psalm 40:1-3).
The Bible passage is set against the backdrop is a desperate situation. The city of Samaria was surrounded by the Syrian army. The people within the walls of the city were literally starving to death. Then, one day, a message of hope came from a most unlikely source. Four strange messengers, leprous men, the outcasts of the society, brought a strange message to the city gate that changed everything for those trapped inside the city. This Bible passage has much to say to all of us. We, the followers of Christ, are a “called out” community to share the message of hope and salvation to a world that is trapped in selfishness, sin, and darkness. Another way to view the followers of Christ is as “commissioned captives” in that they have also been tasked with sharing with others the same good news that has brought them from darkness to light, from death to life. Unless we obediently become the carriers of the good news of hope, those who are in darkness will perish forever.
Even the four leprous men thought that good news and good fortune had to be shared and they feared that failure to do so might merit divine punishment. They resolved to go and tell others about what they had found. They wanted someone else to be helped as they had been! This is where witnessing begins. When we understand that lost people are perishing all around us, and that we have a message that can help them, it ought to stir us to action for the glory of the Lord.
“He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, He sendeth more strength when the labors increase; To added afflictions He addeth His mercy, To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace” - Annie Johnson Flint
Daniel Thomas
Orlando MTC, Florida