Living Through The Nothings - Pt. 4 - No More White Flags! Series

Living Thru The Nothings

Pt. 4 - No More White Flags

It is one of my least favorite words. Nothing. It is a word that reveals lack. It holds no element of promise. It contains no ounce of hope. Let me see if I can explain.

You watch them take large percentages out of your check each month. So as May approaches you get excited because you know for a fact that you are going to get something back from the IRS and then your CPA does all the math and lo and behold you get . . . nothing!

Someone makes you a promise and week after week goes by, then month after month and nothing. No attempt to fulfill their word. No movement towards making good on their vow. Nothing!

The demand is there but the resource is not! The need is apparent the solution is not. A withdrawal is requested but there seems to be no funds. Energy is a must but the tanks are empty! Nothing in the cabinets. Nothing in the bank. Nothing in reserve. Relationship longed for but nothing. Nothing!

I hate the word. I hate the experience even more.

I wonder if maybe some of you are presently living through a nothing moment?

Expectations unmet? Dry when you expected oasis? Caring has become cursing. Wedding turned to war. Health lost to sickness. Healing only a desire. Nothing.

How do you live through that?

There are several "Nothing" accounts in Scripture that I think we would do well to examine and learn from. If all your dreams are coming to pass and life is all fairytale endings for you, then you are not going to understand or need this series. But for the rest of us maybe this will provide some help if not hope.

In Week 1, we dealt with the nothing experience that the disciples had. They were presented with the challenge to feed a hungry crowd and they had nothing. Jesus uses that situation to publicly expose their nothing so that they would have to rely on Him and on others around them. Then He exposes the lie of lack. The disciples had allowed the size of their need to overwhelm the truth of what they had to offer.

In Week 2, we talked about the nothing Elijah faced when he prayed for rain only to have his servant come back and say he saw nothing. We learned that in order to make it through the nothings we must believe promise more than the proof. We must remain in the position of prayer and remember that small clouds can produce a huge miracle. You can't overlook the first indication of change because God can make it rain!

Last week, we talked about what Elijah taught us when he ran in fear from Jezebel. He taught us that in order to navigate nothings seasons we must distinguish between insulation and isolation. Don't despise or fight the separation. It could be for your own good. We learned that we must not neglect the natural if we want to see the supernatural set into motion. We learned that it is essential to lean in and hear God's voice because even if the Word we receive doesn't change anything around us it can change everything in us!

Text: 2 Kings 6:8-18

One time when the king of Aram was at war with Israel, after consulting with his officers, he said, “At such and such a place I want an ambush set.” The Holy Man sent a message to the king of Israel: “Watch out when you’re passing this place, because Aram has set an ambush there.” So the king of Israel sent word concerning the place of which the Holy Man had warned him. This kind of thing happened all the time. The king of Aram was furious over all this. He called his officers together and said, “Tell me, who is leaking information to the king of Israel? Who is the spy in our ranks?” But one of his men said, “No, my master, dear king. It’s not any of us. It’s Elisha the prophet in Israel. He tells the king of Israel everything you say, even what you whisper in your bedroom.” The king said, “Go and find out where he is. I’ll send someone and capture him.”The report came back, “He’s in Dothan.” Then he dispatched horses and chariots, an impressive fighting force. They came by night and surrounded the city. Early in the morning a servant of the Holy Man got up and went out. Surprise! Horses and chariots surrounding the city! The young man exclaimed, “Oh, master! What shall we do?” He said, “Don’t worry about it—there are more on our side than on their side.” Then Elisha prayed, “O God, open his eyes and let him see.”The eyes of the young man were opened and he saw. A wonder! The whole mountainside full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha! When the Arameans attacked, Elisha prayed to God, “Strike these people blind!” And God struck them blind, just as Elisha said.