Sunday, October 28, 2012

Faith in the Midst of a Dead Situation

While reading my bible, this was revealed to me.  Why haven't you exercised your faith? Why have you allowed the state of your situation to dictate what you believe?   In 2 Kings 4, there is a story of a Shunammite woman. She shows kindness to the prophet Elisha. He subsequently entreats the Lord on her behalf and she and her husband are blessed with a son. Some time later, the son falls ill and dies in the woman's arms. She springs into action seeking help from the man of God WITHOUT so much as telling her husband of her son's death. She acted in faith and did not activate her doubts by speaking life to the dead situation. She could have told her husband "our child is dead". She could have sent for the wailers, gathered her family and friends, and immersed herself in the business of mourning. Her actions shed light on a few things.  1. She remembered the first word. She did not let what happened replace what God told her. 2. She gave no place to the negative. The bible does not record that she shed one tear. Everything that she did was about restoring that which she had lost. 3. She walked by faith. Her faith in God said this is not a dead situation though it may look that way. 4. She held her tongue. Her child died, but she believed the word of the Lord so much that she did not speak death into the atmosphere. The bible says that both death and life are in the power of the tongue. 5. She moved. She didn't keep watch over the dead. The bible also says that faith without works is dead. What lesson would there be if she had remained where she was?   I've read this story many times before, but today it was personal. Today it was a mirror for me. The Shunammite woman had a dead child, but so many of us have dead dreams, relationships, finances, jobs, faith. It's time that we stop mourning the loss and start activating our faith. Remember the first word. Steer clear of wallowing in your feelings. Close your eyes to what it looks like and see what God said it would be. Stop running your mouth about what went wrong, looks wrong, is wrong, etc. Every negative word you speak, builds the fire. And finally, relocate be that physically or figuratively. Nothing will be gained by keeping house with the dead.

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