2 Kings 7:13 (NKJV) And one of his servants answered and said, “Please, let several men take five of the remaining horses which are left in the city. Look, they may either become like all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; or indeed, I say, they may become like all the multitude of Israel left from those who are consumed; so let us send them and see.”
It is wise to know who we should allow to speak into our lives. If the king in this passage were to listen to the officer who doubted Elisha’s word, he would have missed the chance to witness God’s deliverance and caused his people to starve to death.
He was fearful, and fear is a dream thief who will steal the vision, dream and calling that God has given you. It will tell you to quit and say that it is impossible; it will scream at you saying, “Look at you! Who do you think you are? Do you think that you can overcome these major obstacles?” Fear and doubt are “good friends”. Together, they will ensure that nothing gets done in your life and that you will never walk out the faith walk. We like to rationalise so that we feel good that it is impossible. However, over-processing can bring greater doubts and unbelief unless we process it with God in the picture!
It is always a fight between believing what God has promised and what the circumstances, facts and reports are telling us, and it won’t stop until the promise comes to pass. We will not achieve much if we constantly talk about the problem rather than focus on God and what He has spoken to us, and we need to remember that the devil will make it difficult for us to walk in faith and carry out what God has called us to do.
The king heard Elisha’s words that breakthrough would come the next day. Nonetheless, he was doubtful and fearful, but his wise servant was bold enough to speak up and gave the king a suggestion. He stopped the king’s fear in its path and gave him faith and hope. He encouraged the king to take a simple step to trust God.
Let’s not be like the officer who cast doubt in God’s promise, and not be like the king who was gripped with fear and lost his ability to lead. Instead, let’s be like the wise servant who believed that it was possible the Syrians had fled, and we must develop our faith like Elisha who wasn’t moved by the circumstances no matter how overwhelming.
Sermon Series: Step Out!
聪明的仆人
列王纪下 7:13 有一个臣仆对王说：“我们不如用城里剩下之马中的五匹马（马和城里剩下的以色列人都是一样，快要灭绝），打发人去窥探。”
明智的做法是知道我们应该允许谁对我们的生命说话。如果开篇经文中的国王听从了那位怀疑以利沙话的军官，那他就错过了见证神拯救的机会，从而导致他的百姓饿死。
他当时很恐惧，而恐惧是一个盗梦贼，它会偷走神赐给你的异象、梦想和呼召。它会叫你放弃，告诉你这是不可能的。它会冲着对你吼叫说：“看看你！你以为你是谁？你以为你能战胜这些巨大的障碍吗？”恐惧和怀疑是“好朋友”。它们俩形影相随地确保你的人生一事无成，永远不会行在信心之路上。我们喜欢合理化和推理，这样就可以自我安慰说“这是不可能的”。然而，过度处理会带来更大的怀疑和不信，除非在我们的处理过程中有神的参与。
相信神所应许的，还是相信环境、现实和报告中告诉你的，这二者之间总有一场争战，这场争战不会停止，直到应许实现。如果我们常常谈论问题，而不是专注于神和祂对我们所说的话，我们将一事无成，我们还需要记住，魔鬼会想方设法地捣乱，不让我们行在信心中从而无法完成神所呼召我们去做的。
王听见以利沙所说的明天必有大事。然而，他怀疑又害怕，而他的聪明的仆人大胆地说了出来，并向王提出了一个建议。他阻止了王的恐惧，给了他信心和希望。他鼓励国王采取简单的步骤来相信上帝。
让我们切莫像那个军官一样，怀疑神的应许，也不要像王一样，被恐惧所笼罩，失去了领导能力。相反，我们应该像那个聪明的仆人一样，相信亚兰军队有可能已经逃走了，我们必须培养如以利沙那般的信心，无论环境如何压倒人，都不为所动。
讲章系列：信心跨越
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