God is Always on Time

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2 Kings 7:1 “Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.”

So here’s the general setting for our story: Samaria is under siege as the king of Aram once again declares war. Prices for donkey heads and seed pods have gone through the roof as food becomes scarce. Samaria is holding on for as long as it can but things are getting desperate. And then the king hears something that pushes him past his breaking point… In what is probably the bleakest and most horrific story in the Old Testament, the king hears that this mother became so desperate that she cooked her own son for food. Unbelievable… We can barely imagine the severity and utter desperation of this situation! Can you imagine the pressure these people were under?

Before this disaster came, Elisha would have told the king that they would be tested but that the Lord would deliver them… Wait for His help. But the king won’t wait any longer. He has waited… he has repented… he has worn sackcloth in a sign of humility before God… But nothing. No answer, no sign of help. “Off with Elisha’s head” the king says. “I’m not waiting one minute more… this disaster is from the Lord! You lied to me Elisha.” The king blamed Elisha for their trouble.

Have you got to the point where you have decided that you can wait no longer and must act? You have been seeking the Lord… praying… reading the Bible looking for an answer… and the only reply you have got is silence. You blame the Lord for it and you now feel that you should take matters into your own hands. But then the Word of the Lord came and tell them through the verse above that the next day, God will restore everything!

When did the answer from the Lord come? It is when faith was gone, when hope had dried up, when things in the natural were at their worst… then the word of the Lord came. Sometimes the word of the Lord only comes at the last minute… But it is not a moment too late in God’s timing. Someone once said ‘God’s help comes, not too soon, lest we should not know the blessing of trusting in the dark, and not too late lest we should know the misery of trusting in vain.’ And that is a true word! When things were at their darkest, Elisha tells them that a new day will dawn tomorrow and all their problems will be over!