Why Sit Here until You Die?

Chapter 1 The Story of the Downcast Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God. For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. —Psalm 42:11 (NKJV) Four Leprous Men at the Gate Have you ever felt like you did not have any options in life—that your proverbial ship would never come in or that the ship did not even exist? I will begin this journey with four men who found themselves in a desperate situation. These men were lepers, the outcasts of Jewish society, and they had little hope for a future. The story begins in 2 Kings 7:3–4: Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.” Wow! Their situation seemed to be very desperate. Sometimes we think we have problems, but as we look around the world, we realize things are not as bad as we perceive. Our perception of reality and what is truly real can be completely opposite. It really takes discernment to tell the difference between the two. How did these men come to their hopeless predicaments? Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, had attacked Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. All the imports had stopped coming into the city. Their food storage was spent, and things had gotten so bad that people were selling dove droppings as food. That is why the lepers said that if they entered the city, they would die. There was only one option for these men: they had to go to the enemy’s camp. Their thought was that perhaps the enemy would spare their lives. The men did not know what life would be like under their captors, but it had to be better than death. Why does fear of the unknown keep us in a place where we know there is no hope or life? The reason these four lepers moved was simply the answer to their question, “Why sit here until we die?” We should ask ourselves this question. Why am I sitting here while the dreams, plans, and purposes God has destined for me die within me? Why do I run from my dreams, put them off for another day, or allow someone to talk me out of them? Why do I let the circumstances of life destroy my dreams? The good news is that God has a plan for all of our lives, but we must be willing to take a risk. These men said, “Hey, they may kill us, but that is better than just sitting here and taking no control over our destiny.” They took action, and things began to change. At twilight, they arose and went to the Syrian camp, but to their surprise, there was no one at the camp. The Bible records that God caused the Syrians to hear the noise of a great army approaching. The Syrian army left in haste, abandoning their spoils of food and wealth. Think about this. Here were four men who earlier had a conversation about gloom and doom. They thought things were bad. The end was near. Now they were instantly in a place of abundance. Let me be clear: just because we make one move toward our destiny does not mean we will have instant success. Know for sure, however, that if you just sit there, your dreams will never come to fruition. The lepers said to one another, “We are not doing right.” What had happened was that these men started hiding stuff they were going to keep all for themselves. They came to their senses and realized that their city was mired in a famine and this abundance could meet their needs. That is the true reason God blesses His children—so they can be a blessing. Deuteronomy 8:18 declares that the Lord gives us power to obtain the wealth to establish His covenant. The world today is in the midst of a famine of food and of the Word of God. Is the church doing what is right? A Story within a Story I want to back up to the beginning of 2 Kings 7. Elisha the prophet said, “Hear the word of the Lord.” He was about to prophesy an impossible thing. He said that tomorrow, barley and wheat would be for sale in their city. This was not a general prophecy of future blessings but a very specific prophecy. He said, “Tomorrow.” Think for a moment about Elisha’s situation. People were eating donkeys’ heads (check the Scripture 2kings6:25) and dove dung, and Elisha had the audacity to say that tomorrow an abundance of food would be sold in their city. Not everyone is going to agree with you stepping out from your lot in life or support the things you say come from God. Be ready because people will disagree with you. When I really felt God’s call on my life to preach the gospel, it was a great feeling. Many people supported my call, but they were not as supportive when I quit college. I will say more about this in the next chapter, but Elisha was feeling pressure as well. One of the leaders in the royal court could not believe this word from the Lord. His response was, “Is God going to just open up windows from Heaven and pour this stuff upon us?” Elisha said to him, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it” (2 Kings 7:2). The crowd rushing to take the spoils trampled this man to death. Do not let the naysayers keep you from God’s purpose for your life. They will volunteer their negative advice. Beware. I like what Dave Ramsey says on his radio show, “Don’t take the advice of broke people.” Do not take the advice of people who are complacent in famine and who criticize words of faith. Remember, in this passage the one who spoke and believed the Word of God enjoyed the blessing of that Word while the criticizer did without. It is that simple. Whose report will you believe? Can’t Go Back or Stay Here When I served as the pastor of a small church in Houston, Alabama, we had a guest minister named Elbert Willis. Pastor Willis told us about a dream of his in which he came to a river and began to swim across it. Then he became tired and discouraged and wanted to turn back. As he turned around, he noticed that he was past the halfway point of crossing the river. He realized he could not go back. As a result of the dream, he received the theme of his life: “No turning back. I am following Jesus.” The children of Israel, under the leadership of Joshua, found themselves in a situation similar to the one Pastor Willis faced in his dream. Joshua 5:11–12 says: And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day. Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year. I remember the time when I received a revelation from the Lord about this verse. My family and I were on vacation in Gulf Shores, Alabama. We were staying on the eleventh floor of a condominium at the beach. On this particular morning, I had awakened before the rest of my family. I went out on the balcony; it was a beautiful and peaceful morning. The sun was shining, and I could hear the sound of the waves crashing into the white, sandy beaches. I had my Bible with me. The setting offered a peaceful spot for devotions. I began reading Joshua 5–6, but it was hard to finish reading because of the message in Joshua 5:11–12. You see, the children of Israel cried out for a deliverer in Egypt. They were saying, “Why sit in Egypt until we die?” God raised up Moses to lead them out of Egypt. For forty years, because of their unbelief, they wandered through the wilderness. Moses died, and Joshua became their leader. God used Joshua to lead His chosen children miraculously on dry land across the Jordan River while the riverbanks were overflowing.