“Your Turn” (Warrior vs. Widow)

Week 9
Main Point and Overview:   

There are moments in life that are going to define our potential in Christ. These moments tend to be linked to the level of faith that we are willing to embrace. The very essence of Christianity is faith. The New Testament is abundantly clear that we are saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) and that we cannot “please God” without faith (Hebrews 11:6). The truth of the New Testament is often illustrated in narratives from the Old Testament. The prophet Elisha encountered several moments where he called desperate and “not so desperate” people to faith in Jehovah God. He spent the bulk of his ministry “calling out” the sins of the evil kings and challenging the people to repent of their own sins. In the middle of his ministry, he encountered desperate people hoping for desperate measures. There is no greater dichotomy than the “widow versus the warrior.” The “starving widow” had nothing. In fact, all she had to pay off her debts was her two sons. In those days, your children could be made slaves to pay off your debts. Then, there was the “diseased warrior.” Naaman was an accomplished war veteran with accolades and attention. Everyone knew who he was, yet he had a disease that was sure to take his life. A widow and a warrior – one a “nobody”; the other a “somebody!” None of it now mattered, they were both desperate for a miracle. How would they each respond when given instructions from the Lord’s prophet? Think about the barriers to faith that we often encounter – success, pride, unbelief. Which one is your greatest threat to faith? It is incredibly easy to live without God when things are going well. We tend to forget God. Then, something changes, and we are faced with uncertainty. In these moments of desperation, we remember that we have a God who loves us. How can we keep from disengaging with God until we become desperate? It is also very easy to allow our pride to keep us from taking the simple steps that God is asking us to take. Literally, Naaman was asked to “take a bath” to be healed, and he initially was not going to do it. What is God asking you to do that is incredibly simple, but your pride is keeping you from doing it? Finally, we don’t believe so we don’t act. Remember, the evidence of faith is hidden until we act.