• COLOURS OF LIFE
When my children were very young, I took them to visit an orphanage. We went with a big bag containing clothes, shoes and toys they had outgrown. I had taken time to explain the importance of this trip to them. They got so excited about the visit that items that did not quite qualify to leave the house were eagerly ‘volunteered’ for the ‘special children’.
At the orphanage we interacted with children of different ages. Our visit was going well until we came to a section for new intakes. There we saw three large cots; in each one was a new-born baby, curled up in a precious bundle. When I asked how these babies ended up in the home, I was told that one was found in a bag in a dust bin, and another by a river. I was so overwhelmed by this information that tears rolled freely down my cheeks. But soon it dawned on me that for each of these children who had been found alive, an unknown number had died! At that instant, I realised it was not a time to shed tears ... it was a time to rejoice. It was AN ALLELUIA MOMENT!
How many times each day does an alleluia moment pass us by? How often do we mistake a blessing for a problem and murmur instead of give God praise?
In the book of second Kings chapter thirteen, Elisha the prophet was terminally ill. Jehoash, the king of Israel, paid him a visit. The king was moved to tears at the sight of the dying prophet. To him it was a time to weep; but not so for Elisha. The prophet was not afraid of death. He knew that to be absence from the flesh was to be present with God. Elisha also knew that God was about to deliver Israel from Syria. Elisha recognised AN ALLELUIA MOMENT!
Rather than give the king a handkerchief to dry his tears, Elisha gave Jehoash matching orders for the next level.
“And Elisha said unto him, “Take bow and arrows”. And he took unto him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, ‘Put thine hand upon the bow.’ And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hand upon the king’s hands. And he said, ‘Open the window eastward.’ And he opened it. Then Elisha said, ‘Shoot.’ And he shot ... and he said ‘Take the arrows’. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, ‘Smite upon the ground’. And he smote thrice, and stayed.” (2 Kings 13:15-18)
The dying prophet responded to a situation that would have justified him throwing a pity party, with instructions for action. And his orders contained principles worth paying attention to.
Yes we are experiencing an economic downturn, yes things have been tough, yes the future seems uncertain. But God always leaves us with a cruise of oil, a ray of hope, a light at the end of the tunnel. Even in this challenging times, we can advance in life. But we must obey God’s orders, step by step: 1.Take bow and arrows: The bow is the base from which the arrow is launched out. The bow and arrow work together, they are a team. The original bow is our faith and the original arrows are our works. But the bow is also what we have that we can use to propel ourselves – a good education, a strong support system, an experience, unlimited information. With our faith in God, we can launch out with our arrows: ideas, products, services, enterprises.
2. Put your hand upon the bow: Lay firm hold on what you have going for you. Here, the king had his hand on the bow and the prophet had his hand over the king’s, symbolising God’s touch upon what we have to build on: a recipe for success.
3. Open the window: A window allows access to what is on the other side. Being asked to ‘open the window’ implies that the window is shut, preventing access. We must take away every obstacle in the way so we can fire.
4. Shoot: With the window open (the obstacle now out of the way), we can release our arrows to hit our target (take the necessary action to reach our goal) and this could be completing an education, building a business, getting married, starting a family, promoting a cause, serving God.
5. Take the arrows: When the king shot the arrows, he accomplished something. But that was only the first phase of the exercise. He still needed to go after the arrows and pick them up. So also it is not enough to step out, we need to followed-up and follow through.
6. Smite upon the ground: When we receive the follow up instructions we need to act upon it and persistently. We must repeatedly exercise the tools we have been given for total victory. God is placing limitless opportunities before us.
King Josiah obeyed the prophet’s every instruction and he was making good progress. But he also made an error; when he was told to strike the arrows on the ground, he did so only three times. Unknown to him, the destiny of his people was hinged upon this action. Because he struck just three times, Israel would triumph over Syria only three times.
God has given each us the go-ahead to maximize our potential. He is ready and willing to go with us as far as we are ready and willing to go.
If we are perceptive, we will identify the alleluia moments and, when we do, we must remember it is not a time to weep but a time to take action. And when we step out we must be relentless – we must just keep at it until ALL we get total victory. Who knows, the destiny of a nation may just depend on it!