Building Faith For Change
 by Rev. Geoffrey Kioko - East Africa Director of HWCM
Many dynamic world events are unfolding before our very eyes. The economies of both great and poor nations are experiencing some of the toughest tests in history. Other dramatic international challenges have emerged that have no easy solutions. Diseases that seem to have no cure have appeared on the scene, confronting millions of people around the world with the pressing reality of life and death. And as individuals, families and communities struggle to deal with all that is happening around them, one thing becomes so clearly evident: we are all experiencing a certain dimension of life’s crises at different levels. To say that there is a worldwide quest for change at this very moment in history, would be an understatement.
But the important question to consider is this: what kind of change are we longing for - the world’s kind of change or God’s kind of change? The source of the change will determine the results. The scripture passage below is taken from an amazing story of how a nation’s leader was in a dire need of change because his country was in the middle of a desperate famine and a military siege by an enemy bent on destroying them, and yet he was not ready to receive the kind of change God was offering at that time.
Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.”
The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?”
“You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it!”
2 Kings 7:1-2 NIV
As the nations become more desperate in the quest for change they have become vulnerable to people who come in the name of “change”. But as soon as their change strategies are implemented the changes they put into place create new demands for new change driving our world into a vacuum of hopelessness. When we lean on our own natural human knowledge and abilities we push ourselves further into the darkness of despair. The king in Samaria leaned on the arm of a man who would not trust God. When our trust is built on ourselves or on people who cannot trust God, whether they be family, political or world leaders; we quickly discover that the kind of change they offer will not yield any lasting impact. Any true problem solving change comes from God. God must be our source of change.
Here are a few principles of change we can glean from our scripture passage this month:
- God will not begin effecting any change before He first declares it. Everything begins with the Word of God because everything is in the Word. The easiest way of missing out on change no matter how desperate we are for it, is to miss the word that God has for our situation. We cannot be so desperate that we overlook what God says about our crisis. Because that Word is the carrier of the change we need. It takes sensitivity in the spirit not only to discern the times but also the Word of God for the times.
- The value we place on God’s message about change determines the level to which we can receive the change. One of the most challenging aspects of faith occurs when the word that God has for the change looks absolutely the opposite of what we can see with our natural eyes. God is Spirit and He initiates things in the spirit that our carnal minds cannot comprehend or accept because it defies logic. This calls for faith and trust in Him who has made the promise and is the only one who can bring it to pass.
- A change of mindset is required. When we have been in a certain situation for so long and have allowed it to take a toll on our minds, we can develop a tendency to reject any new input. In most cases God’s kind of change brings the unfamiliar and thus calls for a shift in the way our minds are set. The king’s officer could not comprehend or accept as true what God was saying through Elisha and as a result he missed it completely.
- The willingness and determination to go in the direction of God’s change for your life will attract “Divine backing”. But it will require a strong discipline in choices made and a serious pursuit of God’s purposes in every area of life that needs to be changed.
God wants to bring His kind of change into your life. Make the efforts that scripture indicates are necessary to align yourself with God’s plan and you will begin to see Divine intervention bringing the changes you so desperately desire.
Copyright Statement:
FAITH CORNER Copyright 2008-2009 © Rita Langeland. 'FAITH CORNER' articles may be reproduced in whole under the following provision: 1) A proper credit must be given to the author at the end of each story, along with a link to http://www.hiddenwithchrist.com/written/index.htm |
