WISDOM FOR LIVING DALY DEVOTIONAL
JULY 11, 2024
TOPIC: SPIRITUAL PROBLEMS REQUIRE SPIRITUAL SOLUTIONS
BY T. O. BANSO
“Then the men of the city said to Elisha, ‘Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren’” (2 Kings 2:19 New King James Version).
After the Prophet Elijah ascended to heaven in a chariot of fire and his successor, Elisha, had crossed over the Jordan back, the first miracle he performed was healing the bad water of Jericho.
The Bible does not provide any background information about the bad water of Jericho. We don’t know how long the city has had this problem. Bible scholars suggest that it was the consequence of Hiel’s violation of Joshua’s curse (Joshua 6:26). He rebuilt Jericho at the expense of the lives of his children (1 Kings 16:34). This means that the problem existed during the time of Elijah. However, there is no record that the men of Jericho approached Elijah for a solution to the problem.
Besides the Prophet Elijah, there were the sons of the prophets at Jericho whom the Bible talks about in 2 Kings 2:5. We don’t know if they brought the problem to the attention of Elijah or if they made any effort to solve it.
Nobody is sent to everybody. Elijah didn’t heal the water of Jericho. Elisha did. He was sent to the city of Jericho. Jesus said, “But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian” (Luke 4:25-27 New King James Version).
The men or people of Jericho came to Elisha one day to seek his help. Elisha was not a water engineer! Or a professional who could solve water problems. Yet, the men came to tell him about the water problem. They must have tried their best to solve the problem but it had defied solution. Coming to Elisha the prophet for a solution means that they had concluded that it was a spiritual problem.
One lesson here is that not all problems will respond to natural remedies. Some are spiritual and it is futile to apply natural remedies. They won’t work. The problem confronting Jericho was spiritual and required a spiritual remedy. We don’t know how early the men of Jericho realized this. Many people today are applying natural remedies to spiritual maladies. It is high time they went to God for a solution.
When Moses was leading the Israelites in the wilderness, they had a water problem. After three days without water, they came to the waters of Marah. But they couldn’t drink the water because it was bitter. “When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What are we to drink?’ Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink” (Exodus 15:23-25a New International Version). Glory to God! The power of God healed the waters.
Sometimes, if your best efforts to solve a problem have not yielded the desired result, it could be a sign that you are dealing with a spiritual problem. Jesus told His disciples who were asking Him why they couldn’t cast out a particular demon it was because of their unbelief but added that the kind of demon they were trying to cast out “does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21 New King James Version).
You may need to fast and pray for victory over some problems. You may, sometimes, need other believers to pray with you. There is nothing to be ashamed of about that. Jesus said, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:19-20 New King James Version).
According to the Apostle Paul, if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it (1 Corinthians 12:26). He says in Galatians 6:2 that we should bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. This is true Christianity.
The anointed servant of God’s intervention may be required to terminate the stubborn problems in some people’s lives. Such people should not continue to suffer needlessly because of ego, ignorance, or unbelief. Approaching the anointed servant of God in faith for prayer does not make one less a child of God.
The Apostle James says, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:14-15 New King James Version). Verse 16 adds that we should confess our trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that we may be healed; the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
The people of Jericho did the right thing by coming to Elisha instead of continuing to suffer in silence. 2 Kings 2:19 says, “Then the men of the city said to Elisha, ‘Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren’” (New King James Version).
The Bible does not tell us if Elisha was already spiritually aware of the problem they brought to his attention. Only fake prophets claim to know everything! The prophet does not always know everything. A true prophet of God will know only what God has revealed to him. Why do I say so? Because of the words of Elisha later in the case of the Shunammite woman whose son had suddenly died. When she ran to Elisha on the mountain, grieving, and caught him by the feet, Gehazi came near to push her away, and Elisha said, “Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me” (2 Kings 4:27b New King James Version). The Prophet Elisha didn’t know what was wrong with the woman because the LORD didn’t reveal to him that her son had died. Therefore, Elisha might have been unaware of the water problem in Jericho. However, he could also have been aware.
It would have been foolish for the men of Jericho to continue to live with this curse of bad water when the prophet of the LORD was in their city. They could have believed that Elisha could not help them and missed their miracle. They could have looked down on Elisha despite the testimony of the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho that the spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha (2 Kings 2:15). That was after Elijah had ascended to heaven and Elisha had taken Elijah’s mantle, struck the water with the cloak, and River Jordan divided, and he went across.
People suffering from some afflictions are not always sensitive enough to recognize the anointed servant of God He wants to use for their deliverance. Some sit down analyzing and criticizing those whose anointing would solve their problems. Some mock their prophets; others ‘stone’ theirs.
The men of Jericho didn’t behave like the people of Nazareth in the time of Jesus who said, “When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?’ So they were offended at Him” (Matthew 13:54-57a New King James Version).
This was unfortunate. What a wrong response to the anointed! Jesus responded to their attitude by saying, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house” (verse 57b New King James Version). Because of their unbelief, He did not do many mighty works there.
However, the men of Jericho had a positive attitude. They esteemed the anointed. They had faith in his ministry. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have brought the matter to him. Furthermore, they obeyed his instruction and God healed the water that had been a source of barrenness or infertility in the city.
2 Kings 2:20-21 says, “And he said, ‘Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.’ So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, ‘Thus says the Lord: ‘I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness’’” (New King James Version). The water was permanently healed according to the word of the LORD that Elisha spoke. I believe it wasn’t the salt that healed the water but the word of the LORD Elisha spoke. God only used the salt. Tonnes of salt would have done nothing if the power of God was absent. The power of God is in His Word. Whatever is the water of Jericho or the waters of Marah in your life is healed today in Jesus’ name.
It is not all sicknesses that respond to medical or natural remedies. King Asa of Judah made this error. In the thirty-ninth year of his reign when he had a serious disease in his feet, he did not seek the LORD’s help even when the disease became life-threatening. He sought help only from his physicians (2 Chronicles 16:12). But his doctors couldn’t help him. He died in the forty-first year of his reign. Don’t neglect the help of God for that of human beings. It won’t work.
Look at 2 Kings 2:19 again: “Then the men of the city said to Elisha, ‘Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren’” It’s not all that glitters that is gold. There may be more to what you’re seeing.
Jericho was a good place to live in, looking at it physically. But there is more to Jericho than what the eyes could see. The water was bad and the ground was barren or unproductive. A prospective immigrant looking for greener pastures might not have this information and relocate! Many have made choices or decisions by sight and are regretting today.
That new job offer, business deal, marriage proposal, relocation, car sale offer, etc. may be a ‘Jericho’. It may appear attractive but there could be a serious problem hidden. It may be pleasant to the eye and desirable like the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:6) but the repercussion may be unpleasant. Anyone who chooses the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley may eventually be drawn to Sodom, as it happened to Lot (Genesis 13:10-13).
Before you take that decision, have you asked the Lord about it? Have you found out His will? “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6 New King James Version).
God will heal the bad water of your life; your ground shall no longer be barren.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. Take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner, and cannot save yourself, and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, heal the bad water of my life permanently. Turn the bitter water of my life into sweet water. Save me from making the mistake of relocating to ‘Sodom.’ Help me to make the right choices in life. Let me not make choices that I will regret forever. Have mercy on me and deliver me from the consequences of my wrong decisions in the past.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
