Keep Moving

The other day I remembered the story of the four lepers in the book of 2Kings of the Bible. The first time I heard about the lepers, I was really inspired by them.  As the preacher preached, I drew a picture of four men with various stages of the diseases, with no limbs or with partial limbs moving towards the camp of the enemy with only one thing in mind “survival”.

In 2Kings verse 7 we are introduced to the four lepers who lived just outside the gates in the city of Samaria because lepers were not allowed to live in the city with other people. They survived by feeding on the left over given to them by the people.  At that time there was another great war between Syria and Israel; and the king of Syria, led a mighty army into the land of Israel, and laid siege against the city of Samaria. So hard and so long was the siege that the people in Samaria could find nothing to eat; many died from want of food, and some killed their own children, and ate them. You can imagine the plight on the lepers who fed on left over, it must have been very bad for them at such a time when people didn’t have food to eat.

The King of Samaria had enquired the prophet Elisha about the situation in response he had boldly prophesied to the people while encouraging them he declared that they will not perish but rather within 24hrs foodstuff would be sold in the market place.

At this time, the four lepers who stayed at the city gates contemplated their fate, it was evidently clear for all to see that in a matter of days they would be dead lepers. They could see in the distance the great camp of the Syrian army, at night they could hear the noise of merry making coming form the soldiers. Their mouths would water as they let their imaginations run wild and picture the great feast the soldiers would have every night before they went to bed. They decided that rather then wait to die of hunger at the gates of Samaria, it would be better to die at the hands of the Syrian soldiers while trying to survive. At least they would have tried.

So they began to work towards the camp of the soldiers and as they moved our almighty Father began to make a way for them; He caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of a mighty army with hundreds of chariots. The Syrian soldiers in their camp were convinced when they heard the sound that the Samarians had managed to enlist the help of other Kings and their armies to fight them. So they ran, leaving behind all the spoils from their previous battles with plenty of food stuff which they had stored up to see them through long months of war, in fact they left the camp intact and fled for their lives.

When the lepers got to the camp, to their great amazement and surprise, there was no one in the camp, no one at all! They ate to their satisfaction, went back told the gate keeper all they had seen (no doubt they had to show him proof their claim) and the keeper raised an alarm in the city. That was how God used the unlikely lepers to fulfill such a great prophesy and save the lives of hundreds of people in Samaria.

This story has always encouraged me to drop any feeling of defeat, to erase completely from my mind the fact that I cannot raise out of any situation I may find myself. The four lepers had had every excuse to sit there and die. They were disadvantaged in every sense of the word. Their reasons for dying such helpless deaths would have been very legitimate. Never the less, they decided to press on and move forward.

It is quiet easy to accept your current conditions, the odds are stacked up against you. You have been fighting all your life, you know now that greatness is out of reach, you say to yourself good things just don’t happen to people like me and on and on. We unknowingly allow ourselves to become victims of our circumstances. The truth is you never know what lies behind that closed door if you don’t try to open it or at least knock on it. No matter how bleak the situation please don’t give up, don’t accept defeat. There are so many people out there waiting for you to come out of that place of depression and self pity to take life by the horns, fulfill your purpose and bless them with your victory story; thereby giving them strength to rise above their own circumstances.

Please don’t give the devil the satisfaction of seeing you kill your potential because of a setback, no matter how major it may be. Keep moving, keep shining, keep believing and trusting that all things work together for your good. I believe that if we can just take a step of faith towards achieving our goals and dreams with survival and growth on our minds and the resolve not to settle for the crumbs that the world has thrown our way, that the Lord God almighty would honor our faith by opening doors that we could never have imagined possible.  He is waiting to amplify your efforts, make a noise in the hearts of people when you speak that will make them pay attention and want to be part of what you are doing. He is waiting to show you off.

Finally, did you notice that the four lepers who were rejects and most likely treated like outcasts went back to the city to inform the people of what they had experienced?  They didn’t want to be partakers of the great feast alone; they wanted to share the Good News. I think the Lord used them because he knew that they would share what they had stumbled on.  When God has brought you out of that slimy pit, no matter what it is, I am convinced that he wants us to minster to the people who are going through the same thing. He uses us to bless other people just as he has blessed us. The blessing is never for us alone, there are lives tied to your deliverance and I believe the earlier we realize and accept this, the faster these things will come to us and through us.

Have a blessed weekend ahead. Hugs