Welcome to our month of Solutions. Our God of abundant love and solutions will in the splendour of His Majesty couple with his sovereignty touch all areas of your life that has defiled solutions since January this year or years past. God will give you heavenly and permanent solutions to the troubles of your life. That problem/ challenge that is troubling your soul, marriage, family, work, ministry that is called physical, spiritual, financial academic challenges that the society is using to identify you will be removed this month in Jesus name. As God granted uncommon solutions to intricate and multifaceted problems facing the Israelites by parting the Red Sea, destroying their enemies (Pharaoh and his cohort) pursuing them , providing manna by cooking in heaven for them when they had no feasible means of food and water and carrying them on eagles wings (supplying all necessary material) will surely make you smile this month.
Simply put God is ready to end the demon of famine around you but desire that you take giant steps to make things happen. When men do the possible God will do the impossible.
The approach to this article will be by sharing some nuggets from 2 Kings 7. You may wish to have a bible ready to take full advantage of this special menu.
2 Kings 7.
Verse 1. 'By this time tomorrow there will be an end to your famine. The man of God prophetically expresses the mind of God.
The spiritual atmosphere of your life or nation is taken care of by the loving God. There will be surplus food and the needs of people will be met. God is not a man that He should lie. The church is positioned to seek the mind of God for the nations. The church is to reveal God's purposes for the nations. The ministers are to be the harbingers and custodians of God's plan for nations' economic growth not woes. Just as you are well endowed to know the mind of God for your future without seeking seers, prophets and visioners.
Verse 2. "If God will open windows can this things be." Some people are always sceptical even when they are in trouble. They are pessimists and not optimists. You cannot go far in life if all you see is impossibilities and recessions, austerity and failures based on circumstances.
In Gen 1:2 the earth was void and full of darkness and it did not intimidate our God and should not intimidate you. You are made in God's image and likeness. Those who will enjoy a life of solution and supernatural abundance must be people of faith who will always see beyond the challenges they are facing.
Do you have an idea of who God is, his sovereignty, majesty, awesome power, that you doubt the capacity and ability of the God that created the universe? That makes the whole earth his footstool, that says' the nations are like a drop of water in a bucket as far as he is concerned?' Never doubt God. Your mind is too little to fathom what this God can do. Col. 1:15-end.
Verse 3. "Why sit we here till we die?" the lepers queried. Here emerges the solution thinkers, movers and doers. There are people who refuse to see their physical disabilities. These are people who knew that their brain is meant to provide solution not just a load packaged on their neck. They are social outcasts but not mental outcasts. Yes, they have skin diseases but not brain deformity. The society locked them out but they refused to lock in themselves. Those in the city thought they were superior and that the lepers were inferior, but experience here shows the reverse.
Many people are born with silver spoons in the mouth and they will die wretched, while those who were born without spoons at all die as multi- billionaires! Until you know the 'why' of life you cannot make progress. One of the "whys" you must find solution to is 'why am I where I am?'
Why do I seem not to be making progress?
Why am I poor? Why are things tight for me?
Why am I always in trouble? Why can't I achieve like my colleagues who are genuinely doing well not thieves and corrupters?
Why is the ministry not moving forward?
Why is my marriage what it is?
If you are separated or divorced, why am I separated or divorced?
Why am I not making progress in my academics?
Why is my business stagnating or stagnated?
Why am I not married? Why am I not pregnant? Why is my wife not pregnant? Why can't I keep my job? Why do I have sleepless nights? Why can't I push my ideas through?
Why is the nation in famine?
Why this, why that? Why can't we change our destiny? Why can't we take a bold step of faith, of adventure to success?
Why am I living in the fear of the unknown?
Why sit we here till we die? Opined poor alienated lepers.
Proverbs 23: 7 says as a man thinketh so is he.
You are not going to see much solution in life until you are a friend of 'why'! Why is a motivational three letter word. So don't throw away the whys of your life, stir them up until you find solution to your life.
Verse 4. We enter the era of brain storming and making serious decision. To process your 'why' you must brain storm. It could be within you or with trusted people. The four lepers did not only brainstorm, they weighed their options. 'If we remain we die, if we go back we shall die, if we advance we have a slim chance of surviving!' Solution providers and those who get solution to their predicaments take the small open windows available to them and push it open, they pursue it, vigorously. They maximize ajar doors. There are small windows for you to get out of the rut you may be in now. My doctorate degree supervisor said something I will never forget but beyond that has helped me in getting solution to my life challenge: ' whatever you are looking for is always around you, look well'
Verse 5. 'They rose up.' No matter how polished your ideas, no matter how brilliant your decisions, until you rise up like the lepers, you will be a victim of your beautiful ideas. Check it out, only doers of vision gets solutions. Only practitioners of their faith get the best results. The great book says only the diligent get results. Reader, get up and carry out your vision. Get up and pursue your dreams. If you don't do what you need to do you become just a day dreamer! The prodigal son said, I will arise and go to my father Lk 15:17, and in Lk 15:20- he arose. After God gave Abraham some direction and instructions Gen 12:1-3, verse four says and 'Abraham departed'.
The solution is closer than you think!
'and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.' Meaning they had a breakthrough. They discovered a gold mine. Remember in verse One God promised surpluses. But did not prevent you from going to do the necessary.
This is where Christians are missing it today! We are high in prayer but low in taking steps that will bring solutions to our lives.
I just returned from a five-nation tour of Asia this October where we held leadership conferences under the auspices of International Gathering of Eagles Conference namely: Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, South Korea and China.
Apart from Philippines who pride themselves as the only Christian nation in Asia, all others are ardent worshippers of Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism, Islamism, and many other gods. But one thing so strikingly glaring is their level of development and economic growth. Comparing Ghana, Zambia and South Korea who had their independence the same year 1957, these nations are well ahead of the 'Christian' nation. Is there anything surreptitiously wrong with the bible that makes the nations not prosperous, the answer is NO. As a matter of fact those who have good understanding of the bible will know that high principles of success in all endeavours are in its pages from Genesis to Revelation, through stories of individuals or nations just like the one we are dissecting through the Holy Ghost this month. What is lacking among us is not lack of ideas but fear of the unknown, fear of taking risks, undue reliance on spirituality, where we are supposed to engage our brains and brawns. What is lacking among us is hard work and making right decisions. I am writing this piece on my flight from Nigeria to Toronto as I went to bury my uncle in Nigeria. I saw one of the tenants in my late father's house who came to visit my mother. A young man in his thirties. The tenants have history of owing rents. Partly because my dad when alive will just encourage them to give their lives to Jesus and come to church, that is their rent! But when he died I told them there is a change of management! That there is no more free rooms. That the money from this house will be used to take care of the widow my father left.
When this man came to greet me I asked him 'are you one of the ones owning rent? Those who have not paid any rent of 500 Naira per month for the past 10 months? He was quick to correct me, ' No sir, my rent per month is 1000 naira! The government has not paid our salaries'.
At the current exchange rate of $1 to 400 naira that was $2.5 per month rent! Yet a working class middle age young man did not pay. That may look as an isolated case, but I told this young man that he is obviously wasting away. What stops you from engaging yourself in petty trades selling plantain, buying them cheap in the farm/market and transporting them to cities? What is stopping you from doing small retails!
Many are crying about economic recession. But the times of recession are times of critical thinking both for individuals and nations. The lepers strategized, and did something critical and got solution. This month do something to give you the desires of your heart.
Verses 6-8 revealed how the Syrians left their wealth and ran after hearing imaginary voices.
"For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host:"
You may be quick to say, Pastor Dada that is no more happening, and you will be wrong. I read the book 'Think and Grow Rich ' by Napoleon. He narrated how a business man was involved in digging for precious metals in California and felt he was not getting result and he abandoned the project, sold it to a new owner and fled. Lo and behold the new owner had barely started digging when they got through to precious metals! They were the lepers who ventured and saw the Assyrians left! People are still leaving lucrative business so that God will make provision for his children. I always say that God gave Pharaoh a dream no one can interpret just because he wanted to make Joseph a Prime Minister in Egypt! History always repeats itself in a new dress.
Verse 9. "Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household."
The lepers did not only get solution to their troubles , food and spoils of war, they had it in excess . When you dare, nature has a way of smiling at you. The lepers recognized that, they moved from prosperity to significance . They moved from having solution to their Issues to becoming solution providers!
"We do not well ...if we fail to help others " Life does not just revolve around you. God has given you wealth, position, prosperity, connections to be able to spread it. Have you helped the orphans, your family members who are not as privileged as yourself, what of your pastor, that church member looking for job, that single mother down the street. This verse is generally used by evangelists and teachers to encourage Christians to proceed on evangelism. If you are born again filled with the Holy Ghost what are you doing to propagate the gospel. Are you saved sanctified and satisfied? Before you forget where we started from, these are lepers. These are people that are socially denigrated because of their skin disease as socially unfit, but they were not operating on that level, they were not looking at their constraints, rather they were strong in giving back to the society. They were community conscious. They were " volunteering" to provide social services. They were serving at food banks. When God has blessed you in life, go ahead and be a blessing. You are blessed to be a blessing. This year will soon go away, go and tell someone about the gospel of Jesus. Go and preach Christ in your neighbourhood. Enter the city today. You do not well if you fail to preach the gospel.
Verses 10-15. This passage tells of how the lepers got the information to the king . But the king thought the Assyrians were using techniques and military strategies to capture his people. That is what I call able bodied people with disabled minds. Leaders who always lead people with fear rather than faith. You may think he is being careful, there is nothing wrong with being careful it is encouraged in life, but people who want to have solution have higher level of trust, take risks and are willing to die rather than hide. They also are quick to identify God at work and give Him credit for it. You remember when Peter was in prison and then the church was praying and God released Peter and he went to where they were praying and Rhoda will not open the door because they could not believe God had answered their prayer. I pray that you will pray and God will give you results. But don't ignore or trivialize the hand of God. God is still in the business of answering prayers and confirming the words of his servant Isaiah 44:26.
Verses 16-20. Finally the word of God has come to pass as the man of God Elisha had said. Food was available everywhere! As Warri people will say in Pidgin English " Food full ground remain" Also the King's special assistant who was mocking prophecy became a victim of his unbelief.
In conclusion, this Month of Solutions, I prophecy to you that the solution to your troubles will come. You will experience supernatural abundance. 2016 will not pass you by without God divinely intervening in your life.
Don't be pessimistic, rather believe. But remember prayer coupled with taking risks, working hard, thinking smart are the tools to your having solution to your life challenges. Remember God will do the impossible, when men do the possible!
