July 29                                            Jas 3 - 5

WINNING BY FOOLISH MEANS

MEMORISE: ‘O LORD, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.’ (Ps 104: 24)
READ: 1 Corinthians 1: 18- 29

In 2 Kings 13: 15-18, Elisha, on his sick bed, asked king Joash to take up his bow and arrow. He then put his hand upon the king’s and asked him to shoot into victory. This appeared to the king to be foolish, so he shot thrice only and stopped. But it was a symbolic act of faith.

In Exodus 14: 21, God asked Moses to stretch out his rod for the Red Sea to part before the Israelites. As Moses obeyed, God made a way in the midst of the sea for them to go through. In Joshua 6: 1- 20, Joshua and the Israelites were instructed by God to march round the city of Jericho seven times. Of course it sounded foolish, yet as they obeyed, the wall fell flat.

A barren woman once attended a meeting. The minister was led of the Spirit to tell those trusting God for the fruit of the womb to go home and start preparing clothes for the expected babies. The woman obeyed and sewed a dress for a boy. When her relatives saw her, they thought her barrenness had made her crazy. But nine months later, she gave birth to a baby boy.

The widow of Zarephath in 1 Kings 17: 8- 16 had only one meal left. The man of God met her and told her to give him her last meal. This did not make sense to her but she simply obeyed, and after that act of faith she never lacked food again.

With God nothing is impossible. It takes an act of faith to receive from him, for without faith no man can please the Lord. It also takes obedience – simple unsullied obedience. A brother prayed and trusted God for several months over certain issues, but did not receive an answer. When God finally spoke, he instructed the man to go to a widow to sow seed. The man had very little but he obeyed, although he wondered how that trip was connected to the answer he was seeking. Reaching his destination, he met a man of God who was visiting the widow at the same time. Through him, the answers he sought were given and that was how he entered his breakthrough. Through faith and obedience, you, too, can be victorious.

ACTION POINT
Yield your will to God: allow him to have his way
in your life and to help you follow him foolishly.