An intriguing God...

    What makes the Bible interesting is the fact that the stories told generally have an intriguing twist that reflects God’s fascinating character. God never quite seems to do things in the way we would expect. The way in which He delivers, saves, keeps, sustains His people is sometimes simply mind-boggling. He clearly doesn’t think the way we do, or does things in the logical human way we would expect. He also uses the most unlikely people to carry out great works on His behalf. 
    The story of the four leprous men in 2 Kings 7:3-20 is one of many examples of this. Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, had besieged Samaria, the then capital of Israel. There was also a famine in Samaria at that time. As four leprous men sat at the gate of the city, they realised that they had to make a decision - they could enter the city and die there from the famine or they could remain at the gate where they would also die. They decided to go to the camp of the Syrians and surrender themselves to the Syrian army. Whether or not their lives were spared, it would certainly be better than their present situation.
    Taking a bold step of faith is not always easy. It usually means coming out of our comfort zone to go to the unknown. Those lepers had no idea what they were going to meet or what would happen when they surrendered to the Syrians but they decided that they had had enough. They were stagnant where they were and needed to do something to change their present situation. Trusting God can sometimes feel like that. Even though where we are is not the best, stepping out of that comfortable space may cause us to feel uncertainty and fear. Yet, when we move forward keeping our eyes fixed on God, we can have the confidence that He sees and knows what we don’t and He will lead us the right way.
    When the lepers arrived at the Syrian camp no one was there. The Lord had caused the Syrians to hear the sound of a great army and they had quickly left their camp leaving everything behind. Isn’t it like God to fight  battles for us without needing us to be present for the battle? The Israelites had no idea what had happened in the Syrian camp and that God had caused the army to scatter in fear. 
    There are times when God may step in and fight on our behalf and we don’t have to lift a finger to do a thing. I can testify of this. Recently God fought a battle for me and I wasn’t even around. I didn’t even know a battle was raging but I found out about it after it was over. That’s one of the intriguing things about our God. When He says He will fight for us, He really does! We may not always need to work up a sweat, or even present an argument, God just does it Himself. I can honestly say that at times, He is truly working in the background, shifting things around or simply scaring the enemy away so that by the time we arrive on the scene, God has the situation covered! In the end, thanks to those lepers, the Israelites were able to go to the Syrian camp and gather the spoil. The expected battle never took place and the famine finally ended!
    However God chooses to fight the battle for you, you can have the confidence that you don’t have to do it on your own. Some battles may seem to require no effort on your part but some certainly will. Yet, it is about trusting God to never allow you to go through any challenge alone. He is not standing on the sidelines watching you fight but He is right there in the fight with you! To me that is a great comfort because it means that God loves and cares about you so much that He is interested in being a part of those unpleasant seasons in your life. God loves you and He cares about you. It’s a personal thing between you and Him.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God wants to be there in every season of your life, both good and bad. He wants to be there to guide you when you need it and He wants to be there to help you when you feel overwhelmed. There is nothing too difficult for God to do for you!
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