Dr. Scott R. Rainey, NDI Global Director
Recently, in my daily quiet time with Jesus, I was reading in 2 Kings 6. The Israelites were at war with the nation of Aram. The king of Aram became convinced that Elisha, the prophet of Israel, was a problem to Aram’s success in the war against Israel, so the king of Aram sent his army to take Elisha prisoner.
That night, as the army of Aram descended on the home where Elisha was staying, Elisha prayed that the army would be blinded. God answered his prayer. Elisha came out of his home to talk with the blinded soldiers of Aram. He said, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for” (2 Kings 6:19). Elisha proceeded to lead the entire army of Aram into Samaria, the capital city of Israel.
Once in Samaria, Elisha prayed that the army of Aram would regain their sight, and once again, God answered Elisha’s prayer. Can you imagine what the Aramean soldiers thought when they realized that they had been led into the capital city of their enemy? Elisha told the king of Israel not to kill the Aramean soldiers but instead to feed them a meal and send them on their way. As a result, the army of Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.
As I read this story, I prayed, “God, who would have thought You would have delivered Israel in that way? I admit that I am very shortsighted and cannot always see what You are doing. You have so many ways to give victory to Your people. Help me to trust You more!”
The story of 2 Kings 6 reminded me of the story of a Christian statistician who was speaking to a room full of people. He asked the crowd, “If you have six common LEGO bricks, how many different combinations can you build?” People started shouting out numbers. One said, “One thousand!” Another, “Ten thousand!” Still another dared to say, “Fifty thousand!” The answer finally came, “With just six LEGOs,” the statistician said, “you can create 915,103,765 different combinations!”
Hard to believe, isn’t it? Almost one billion combinations are possible with just six LEGO bricks! When Christians cry out to God to intervene in a difficult situation, we often ask Him to deliver us in one specific way. God, however, has so many ways to bring victory. Rarely could we even guess the way God would choose to do it.
The story of Christmas is no different. Who would have thought that God would choose to deliver humanity from sin and death in such a surprising way? God Himself came to earth through a baby born in a manger. Consider the God of wonder this Advent season. Consider your need and the unlimited ways to bring you to victory that God has at His fingertips! Will you trust Him?