2 Kings 4 ends with a couple examples of God’s power at work in His servant Elisha.
“There was a famine” going on in Gilgal. People were hungry. Elisha tells one of his servants to “put a large pot on the fire and cook up some stew”. The servant went out and found some gourds from a wild vine and threw them in the pot. The stew was bad – men, even hungry men, could not eat it. Elisha steps in and asks for some meal to throw into the pot, and that fixed the issue. “The ate it and it was just fine”. Instant recipe correction by the man of God. Do you feel the power here? Elisha is plugged in. God has anointed him with His power. Elisha doesn’t make a big deal about it – he sees and issue and just fixes it. No pomp and circumstance – just get it done and move on. On another day a guy comes along with 20 loaves of fresh bread and a few apples. Can you smell that fresh baked bread. I love that smell, and these guys were hungry so I am sure they were clamoring to get at it. Elisha says “pass it around to the people to eat”. Sounds like a pretty simple set of instructions doesn’t it? Problem is there were a “hundred men” there in the crowd. Can you imagine how far 20 loaves and a few apples would go between a hundred hungry men? I love what Elisha says – two simple instructions:
- Just go ahead and do it
- God says there’s plenty
Not only is Elisha plugged in – he knows where he is plugged in to. God is the source of his power. God is the One in control here. Elisha is just the vessel being used. Nike thought they were original with their “just do it” campaign. God put that in the Bible a long time before Nike was even thought of. Just do it – that is what God wants from us. We just need to obey and leave the details to Him. He will determine the outcome – our job is to just move when He leads. The loaves were passed and scripture tells us “sure enough, there was enough….and leftovers”. Remind you of any other stories about feeding people? Jesus did the same. God always has adequate resources guys. He never runs out. Where the rub comes is with the obedience on our part. It is getting us to “just do it” that slows God’s progress at times. Oh for the heart of Elisha – his simple willingness to follow God’s direction immediately, completely and with faith. He knows that God is faithful and will come through. We serve the same God men. Do you know that same truth?
Posted by asorensen 
