“And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?” (1 Kings 17:17,18).
TEXT — 1 Kings 17:17-24–
Message
Life is not always kind. Sometimes, it dishes out events and instances that leave people in despair, pain and sorrow. Bereft of hope, people react in very predictable ways. They either turn to the wrong sources for solution, or blame other people; or they just sit back, complain endlessly, and do nothing.
The widow of Zarephath found herself in such a situation. Her son fell sick and suddenly died. In sorrow, she turned to Elijah, not to plead for his intervention with God, but to accuse him of bringing misfortune to her. Elijah was unruffled. He knew that God is a Comforter of the troubled and that there was nothing He could not do. Being not a capricious Sovereign, the Lord’s miracles through His servants are intended not only to establish His supremacy, but also to bestow His goodness to men and draw them closer in faith. Of course, God shows His hand when we are at our wit’s end or facing desponding situations. Elijah, therefore, had only one course of action: turn to God in prayer. The Lord did not disappoint him as He raised the child from the dead. God proved that He was the omnipotent Creator who had the power to give hope to the living and restore life to the dead. He can be trusted for a solution in desperate situations.
Today, we face downturn in the global economy, the outbreak of a pandemic, widespread suspicion and fear in the society. Modern contrivances, philosophy and ideas have not delivered the peace, security and prosperity they promised. But our peace and joy lie only in God, to whom we should turn for help. He alone can restore hope, peace and order in our societies. He can change the hearts of wayward citizens in our communities, and draw man to the path of probity, morality and good conduct. There is no hope elsewhere for man.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
2 comments
May I ask do you think in this world everything we do which has been decided beforehand that means our salvation has been decided by the beginning?
Dear Amy, Our salvation has definitely not been decided beforehand. Our wills are our own, so it is up to us to make the right choice(s), knowing the facts of a matter. God did not want us to be like robots, just like we would not like to think we control our children. We merely represent in our teaching of them all the facts so that they will be able to make informed choices. We hope that those choices will be the right choices, but we have to leave them to make their own decisions at the end of the day. Similarly with God. I hope that helps. God bless you.
May I ask do you think in this world everything we do which has been decided beforehand that means our salvation has been decided by the beginning?
Dear Amy, Our salvation has definitely not been decided beforehand. Our wills are our own, so it is up to us to make the right choice(s), knowing the facts of a matter. God did not want us to be like robots, just like we would not like to think we control our children. We merely represent in our teaching of them all the facts so that they will be able to make informed choices. We hope that those choices will be the right choices, but we have to leave them to make their own decisions at the end of the day. Similarly with God. I hope that helps. God bless you.