How Shall We Do?
The question of the prophet Elisha’s servant is as up-to-date as today’s newspaper. When the servant saw the enemy of the Lord, he was totally intimidated. The Bible says, “And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?” (II Kings 6:15). In the chaotic world in which we live, the question still rings out, “How shall we do?” What shall we do in the face of this kind of opposition? Where shall we go? Who has the answer? Let’s begin with our first question:
1. What shall we do?
One of the great struggles we face in a crisis out of our hands is that we cannot control everything or sometimes anything. We like to control our life and events surrounding it. Speaking metaphorically, when we are shipwrecked on life’s desolate shore and stranded on the island of Gods’ mercy, it is most humbling. When we come to the point that unless God comes through we’re not coming through, we need rather to take hope, because it is in this atmosphere that God loves to miraculously come through in our behalf. The Bible went on to say, “And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha” (II Kings 6:16,17). The answer of the prophet was to look into God’s reality, not your own. Look beyond your frame of reference to God’s view of things. When we demand activity, God says look. In Genesis 15:5, God says to Abraham, “Look now toward heaven….” In Isaiah 45:22, God says, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” God said in II Corinthians 4:18, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Elisha’s servant found out when we are out of control and God is in control, all event and personages are under His control. We look beyond the temporal to the eternal. We have a tendency to act on what we believe. When we look into God’s possibilities, our belief is strengthened. The nest question we want to tend to is:
2. Where shall we go?
Again we remind you that human nature always wants something to do to make our world right. The need on this mountainside is not to escape but be patient and stand still. Is this not the principle of Scripture? Through Moses God said to the children of Israel in Exodus 14:13, just before the Red Sea parted, “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD….” In a similar situation, Jehosophat was also up against a seemingly insurmountable problem of a strong enemy. God in His gracious encouragement said, “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you” (II Chronicles 20:17). The temptation to run is with most of us in times of crises. May we instead hear the voice of God as He encourages us to stay things out! So now in our stillness, we ask:
3. Who has the answer?
“Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6: 67.68). Our Lord Jesus has the answer! Maybe there is someone reading these words in a quandary about the will of God for your life. In the words of the old spiritual, “Where could I go but to the Lord?”
Two weeks ago, our precious member, Ann Thomas collapsed on her floor just before leaving her house for work as a nurse. She was life-flighted to a downtown hospital and she lay in a coma for a week after suffering a massive stroke. I was in the presence of the doctor when he said, “We hope for the best, but in reality, she may not open her eyes.” He gave different scenarios about what may or may not happen. He concluded that at this time we should pray because only God can help now. Within four hours Ann opened her eyes. What a joy to visit her today and see her smile and wave! Now I ask you, “…to whom shall we go?” Or as the servant of Elisha asked, “How shall we do?” We shall do royally if we become utterly dependent on the Lord. I have the sense there is someone reading these words that needs to trust and rely completely on the Lord. You have tried in vain to “make things happen” but it seems all in vain. Hosea 10:12 says, “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” Now is the time to seek the Lord. As we come to a conclusion that we don’t see the whole picture until God enlarges our vision, be reminded that God says, in Genesis 15:1, “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” The Bible gives us this wonderful promise in Psalm 84:11, “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”
- Pastor Pope -