This Trouble is From the Lord...Why Wait on Him?

“And while he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him and said, "This trouble is from the Lord! Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?"”

‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭6:33‬ ‭

After the impatient messenger spoke these words in the midst of a terrible famine, Elisha told him that food would soon be plentiful. No one believed him. the prophecy seemed impossible. And yet...it happened. The Arameans, the enemies who had besieged the people and caused the famine had inexplicably fled, leaving behind food and riches. Just as Elisha had prophesied, God had brought a miraculous end to the time of starvation at the hands of enemies.

How often do we throw our hands up in discouragement, facing troubles that God COULD have prevented? How often do we give up because like the messenger, we have decided it is not worth waiting on the Lord any longer?

There are situations about which I have prayed for years to be transformed. I wait and wait, thinking surely God wants what I want here! Why is He tarrying? Why does He not restore, repair, redeem NOW, when it is so clear it would bring Him glory and ME relief???

Admit it. I am not alone in my impatience.

In the passage I cited from 2 Kings, two women in the midst of the famine resorted to eating one of their babies! This may seem extreme, but how different are we from those desperate women, tired of waiting on God and taking matters into their own hands?

One out of four people have had an abortion. 

Half of marriages end in divorce.

Suicide ideation and attempts among teens and young adults has DOUBLED in the past decade.

Why wait upon the Lord when all these wonderful solutions to the struggles of life are available? 

From our perspective, our troubles seem overwhelming. That feeling of despair is not unique to the tumult of modern life. Back to that passage in 2 Kings, listen to the response of the people Elisha urged to wait upon God’s plan in the midst of the famine rather than their own: The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?”

Incredulity.  Surely God could not bring about a solution to this impossible situation.

Except He could...and He did.

2 Kings 7:5-8 

[5] At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there, [6] for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!” [7] So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives. [8] The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp, entered one of the tents and ate and drank. Then they took silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.

I have been out of town nearly 2 1/2 weeks. It has been a restful break from the deluge of impossible situations I face along with my fellow Cities4life sidewalk counselors at the busiest abortion center in the Southeast. It has been very restorative, though in the midst of the break, I did receive calls from some of the moms I work with or volunteers I work with, some with difficult issues that were not easy to solve. How quickly I dissolve in discouragement when God does not intervene and solve what I know He could in the wink of an eye if He wanted. 

In the peace of the vast, quiet desert near Tucson where my parents live who I am visiting, I had long hikes and time to ponder and listen to God. In my daily Bible reading, I also read about Elisha’s predecessor, Elijah. After his astonishing victory over the prophets of the false God, Baal, Elijah faced great discouragement and despair. The evil queen Jezebel was more determined than ever to destroy Elijah. He ran through the desert, and then collapsed and asked God to just kill him now.

Did God strike Jezebel dead and restore peace, prosperity, and His righteous kingdom to counter Elijah’s despair?

No. 

He first encouraged Elijah to sleep, and eat, then eat and sleep some more. Then He told Elijah that contrary to how Elijah felt, he was NOT alone. God had preserved a remnant of His followers who would support Elijah. And God soon thereafter sent Elijah his special friend and protege, Elisha. Then God offered Elijah a rare glimpse of God’s physical presence.

I pondered this story during my own traipsing through the desert. It is a model of ministry as well as a model of how God often responds to me when I have reached the end of myself.

1. Meet the immediate, pressing physical needs such as food and rest

2. Assure those in struggles they are not alone.

3. Bring them into the presence of God and the truth of His promises.

Elijah was rejuvenated, and went on to anoint Elisha to take over when Elijah’s work on earth was done. God did not reveal the entirety of His plan but did provide revelation at the perfect time. Just like He provided just enough manna for each day to His people as they traversed the desert en route to the promised land, He gave only what was needed for the immediate moment. They learned to trust that He would provide for the future as well. 

So, why wait upon the Lord any longer? Ultimately,  God’s plan will be fully revealed and His people fully redeemed. Until then, as those stories from the lives of Elijah and Elisha demonstrated, wait upon the Lord because He has shown over and over that He can be trusted.

So I return to the sidewalk of the busiest abortion center in the Southeast today. My team and I will speak on behalf of the babies who cannot speak for themselves and offer the mothers hope and resources so they may incline to a choice for life. We will try to meet their pressing physical needs, assure them they are not alone and provide a mentor through LoveLife Charlotte, then fill their spirit with the truth and hope of Jesus Christ and His redemptive mercy and grace.

And when we have done all we are called to do, then we wait upon the Lord.

********

Isaiah 35

The Ransomed Shall Return

35 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
    the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
2 it shall blossom abundantly
    and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
    the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
    the majesty of our God.

3 Strengthen the weak hands,
    and make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who have an anxious heart,
    “Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
    will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
    He will come and save you.”