If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die.” 2 Kings 7:4
It was only in the disaster of my addiction – when I was losing everything – that I became wiling to embrace radical change. Prior to that, change had just cost too much. When I had nothing left to lose however, then I finally became willing to do whatever it took to cut drugs out of my life, go to treatment, and change everything. Yes, I followed God radically, but only after I’d exhausted every other option.
Often, we become willing to make radical changes only the face of great desperation. This principle is illustrated in today’s passage, which tells of four men with leprosy who, exiled from the city of Samaria, spent their lives begging at the city gates. When an enemy army besieged the city, cutting off all food supplies, they were caught between a city that didn’t want them and an attacking force. One evening, desperate, they examined their options. If they stayed put or entered the city, they’d die of starvation. Their only option was to approach the enemy, hoping for mercy. Going to the enemy was crazy, but it was the only choice that didn’t end in certain death. In the end, God struck the enemy army with supernatural fear, causing them to flee, leaving behind tents, supplies, and food. The lepers struck it rich.
So, what’s the lesson for me? Though I often require desperation to become willing to embrace change, this isn’t necessarily a good thing. I should have gone to treatment long before I lost everything. Now, seeking to live in faith and recovery, I’d like to learn to choose the right thing first – before I cause myself massive devastation. I’d like to learn to follow God before I’ve exhausted every other option. Daily then, I must take the time and effort to point my life at God, making my behavior follow. Yes, there may be some cost to this. I may have to sacrifice my will to follow God’s will, but in doing so, I’m spared the misery of my self-inflicted disaster and desperation.