YOU ARE BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING
By Randy Anderson, Maintenance and Unofficial Chaplin, Kempton of Charleston
Proverbs 3:27 says, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to do it.” Like many proverbs, there is no conditions or context for application. It is a timeless principle for any situation. One unlikely opportunity for application is given to four lepers in great need and distress.
2 Kings 7 provides the story line behind the unexpected generosity of God and the realization that His blessing is connected to their opportunity to bless others. On one side of the four lepers is the Armenian army seeking to conquer Samaria. In fact, they are seeking to enslave as captives the very people who had spared and blessed the Armenian general’s father when they had attack with the same ruthless intent a generation before. The Armenians are moving through Samaria at will plundering city after city.
Inside the city of Samaria are people who are frightened and distraught. There seems to be no stopping this evil power from laying siege to the city. Compounding this threat is a grievous famine. The heart wrenching details are in the narrative. The gates are shut and despair is lurking for victims.
Outside the city gates are the four lepers commiserating over their two choices. Keep in mind the animosity with which these four have been treated by those who otherwise should be friends inside Samaria. The first choice is to beg admission into the city, but they surmise that since everyone inside is starving that they would be rejected as “extra mouths to feed.” The second is to throw themselves on the mercy of the attacking army, “who knows, maybe they would spare us” one says, and off they run to the ruthless marauders. It is ironic, seeking help from the greatest enemy.
But God, knowing the back story and seeing the four lepers in the hard place, shows up with His “marching army” sound track. Just as the lepers run headlong to the merciless marauders, they LORD causes the entire army to hear what they assume is the sound of the great Egyptian war machine. They drop all their plunder and food and run for their lives. So as the beleaguered lepers crest the hill they find the blessing of every possible luxury in the midst of their life of rejection and starvation. What is a despised one to do?
They initially grab as much as they can carry to hide in the woods so that they are not deprived of a great bounty. The neediest sometimes feel entitled to any bounty that unexpectedly comes their way. But then the turning point arrives. One says to the other, “What we’re doing is 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)
What are we learning from God’s work in the lepers and us today?
- THE PLACE GOD GIVES YOU TO BE A BLESSING VARIES GREATLY.
- GOD IS WORKING IN THE WORLD YOU LIVE IN.
- WE ARE ALL MAKING CHOICES ABOUT HOW AVAILABLE WE ARE TO GOD TO RELEASE HIS BLESSING.
- GOD IS HOLDING ONTO THE DOOR KNOB OF UNEXPECTED OPPORTUNITIES.
- THE DELIMMA OF THE FOUR LEPERS IS ALSO OURS (7:8-11); WILL WE RE-TRAIN OURSELVES TO BE CHANNEL GOD’S BLESSING TO OTHERS?
- GOD LIKES TO PUT YOU IN A PLACE OF FAITH RECOGNITION-See and Act!!
- GOD WANTS THOSE BLESSED BY HIM TO PASS ON TO OTHERS WHAT THEY RECEIVE FROM HIM.
So how has God blessed you with talent, time, and resources of various sort? How are you currently using what He has given you for His glory? What opportunities are in front of us to use the resources of God in our lives?
