A God Bigger Than Faith

2 Kings 7:3-5
3 Now there were four men who were lepers at the entrance to the gate. And they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die?
4 If we say, 'Let us enter the city,' the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die."
5 So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians. But when they came to the edge of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no one there.

+++

These four men who had leprosy decided to do something, anything. Their only other option was to do nothing and just wait until they died. The famine in the land was so severe it would take a miracle to improve the situation. Elisha prophesies that such a miracle will take place overnight. These four lepers had no idea that their decision to just get up and go would save not only their lives but the entire city as well. I'm sure they thought they would never contribute to society in a meaningful way. They probably never figured they would be announcing good news to the city they weren't even allowed to enter and be a part of, but God fulfilled his word exactly as he promised, in a way that no one would have expected.

That's the thing with God, he always fulfills his word, and it usually always happens in a way that would never have been expected, through people who never would have been expected. God fulfilled his word of blessing all nations and redeeming his people in the most unexpected way also, by becoming human himself, living a perfect life, then faced torture and a humiliating death; and all of that accomplished his plan precisely. On top of that, Jesus raised up men and women who would continue his priestly and prophetic work, but they were people no one would have guessed. They weren't priests or religious leaders, they were ordinary citizens; fishermen, tax collectors, zealots, demon-possessed women - these are the people who left those identities and became heroes of faith.

Today God is still doing the exact same thing. He takes those who don't believe they'll do anything significant and he uses them to fulfill the things he's promised, exactly as he says. How do we get people to understand this? It's not about convincing them what's possible or reasonable, it's about getting people to see who God is; how big he is and how he always accomplishes his purposes. It doesn't matter who he uses or how he does it, it's about his plan and his will - we just believe, and if he uses us (and he will), we carry out his plan with thanksgiving.

It shows just how in control God really is. If God always used amazing, skilled, totally gifted people, it would be hard to trust that he has a plan and is faithful to it. But God is in control to a degree that we can't comprehend, and that's awesome. Our lives require faith, but it's faith in a God that is so much bigger than our faith. It's not a lot of faith that we need to acquire. We tend to think we just need more faith, more faith, but really it's just a bigger realization on who God is and how big he is.