*Above Only Devotional* MON, DEC 3 *Don't Give Up* _2 Kings 6:30, 31 & 33 (LB), 1Kings 7:1 (LB)_

*Above Only Devotional*

MON, DEC 3

*Don't Give Up*

_2 Kings 6:30, 31 & 33 (LB), 1Kings 7:1 (LB)_
_When the king heard this he tore his clothes. … "May God kill me if I don't execute Elisha this very day," the king vowed. *"The Lord has caused this mess," the king stormed. "Why should I expect any help from him?" *Elisha replied, "The Lord says that by this time tomorrow two gallons of flour or four gallons of barley grain will be sold in the markets of Samaria for a dollar!"_

The famine in the land of Samaria was so severe that among other things, people even sold and ate the dung of doves, 2King 6:25. Others killed and ate their own children to survive. What the king heard in our text above that caused him to tear his clothes and seek to kill Elisha was the account of how two women agreed to take turns in cooking and eating each other's children. However, after eating the child of one, the other refused to offer her child to be killed and cooked, 2Kings 6:28-29. One possible reason for the king's negative reaction towards Elisha was that the famine actually resulted from a siege of the Syrian army(2Kings 6:24-25) , the same army which the king had an opportunity to destroy. However, it was Elisha who had asked him to feed them and send them back to their king, 2Kings 6:22-23. On the surface, it appeared that act of kindness was now backfiring against them.

But God is not unjust to forget our work and labour of love Jer.1:10(Heb.6:10) and God is never late. Right when the famine in the land reached its peak, God spoke through Elisha about the great abundance that was about to dawn upon the land. God brought about this great and unbelievable abundance in a very unusual way; using four lepers, 2Kings 7:3-16. The Bible declares that food was indeed abundant and sold for very little cost according to the word of the Lord. Just like Elisha did, I believe that God wants you and me to open our mouths and speak His word into being in our lives and situations. As we speak, God will carry out His word through unusual means.

ACTION POINT:
Open your mouth and speak God's word of life, power, hope and restoration into your life and the lives of others.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR READING PLAN
EZEKIEL 9-10; 1 JOHN 5