It happened as the man of God has said to the king, “About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.” — 2 Kings 7:18

In Judaism, faith is more a verb; it is something that we do, rather than something we have. These devotions explore the idea of faith as living out our lives in a way that reflects our belief and trust in God. Enjoy!

There’s an old Yiddish expression which best translates as “Man plans, and God laughs.” In other words, we humans plan and make choices based on our limited view of reality and of what is possible. Meanwhile, God goes about the business of doing what we never thought could happen.

While it’s important to always plan based on what we understand, as people of faith we must never forget that God doesn’t play by our rules. We see a great example of this in one of my favourite Bible stories from 2 Kings.

Here’s the background. There was a great famine in the land of Israel. In addition, the Aramean enemy had laid siege on Samaria, the biggest city in northern Israel. The people were suffering and there seemed to be no end in sight.

Elisha, the great prophet, declared to the king of Israel: “About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.” Basically, Elisha was saying the impossible would happen—the people would have abundant food.

Naturally, the king’s top officer was skeptical. He replied to Elisha: “Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?” The man of God had replied, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!” (2 Kings 7:19).

All Things Are Possible

That same day, four lepers who had been banished from the city entered the Aramean camp. To their surprise, the camp was deserted. Unbeknownst to them, God had caused the Arameans to hear what they thought was an approaching attack. Fearing imminent defeat, the Arameans fled, leaving behind all of their food, along with other supplies and treasures.

When the lepers told the people in the city what they discovered, nobody believed them. After the king’s men checked the camp first, the starving people ran out to partake of the food that God had miraculously provided.

Remember the officer who had doubted Elisha’s prophecy? Well, he had been stationed at the city gate and was trampled to death by the people as they rushed out of the city. Elisha’s words had come true: the officer witnessed the miracle but did not live to enjoy it.

While we make our plans based on what we can see and understand, let’s never forget that with God all things are possible. Never lose faith!

Your turn: Share with me in the comments below a time when God did the impossible for you! Our faith stories encourage each other!