Rev. Johnson V.
1st May 2011

The Kingdom of God is not characterized by whims and fancies. Our God is not prone to mood swings that result in blessings or curses being poured out indiscriminately on humanity. Instead, He has instituted specific laws to regulate the effect of our actions on our lives. The well-known adage ‘what you sow, so shall you reap’, originated from the Bible. Each of God’s principles, as revealed in His Word, is designed to move us to greater level of personal blessings.

Today, we look at the Laws of ‘Expectation and Honour’, found in Luke 4:25-26. The incident that our Lord recalls here, is recorded in the Old Testament in 1 Kings 17, where Elijah declared neither rain nor dew over the land, in obedience to what God had told him. God then commanded the prophet to live by a brook where he would have access to water, and where ravens will feed him. And then one day the water in the brook also dried up. God then commanded the prophet to go to Zarephath, Sidon where He had commanded a widow to take care of him. In doing so, the widow and her son would survive the famine.

Sidon was a coastal area, and was considered enemies of Israel. They were Baal worshippers and the Jewish people considered them pagans. The dreaded queen Jezebel was a native of that land. Yet Lord Jesus reminded them that that in the day of that great famine, Elijah was sent to a widow from Zarephath, Sidon. The Lord told them that a prophet is not acceptable in his own hometown, and yet is welcomed by others. Others are not as likely to judge the prophet since they don’t know him and are more likely to come with great expectation and faith, like the widow at Zarephath, thereby allowing God to work in their lives.

Our expectation of God will make Him work on our behalf. If we approach Him casually and without expectation, He is under no compulsion to honour our requests. But when we come expectantly – eyes and ears attuned to Him – He will honour our desire and our expectation. Life may not be easy, but rather than get jaded and weary, we should renew our hearts and turn to Him expectantly. He is the answer to all our needs!

In 1 Kings 17:9 – God tells Elijah that He has ‘commanded’ a window to supply his needs. God trusted the widow at Sidon to do His work, even though it meant giving the prophet everything she had. Can He trust us to do the same? Have we proved ourselves faithful in doing His work?

When you believe God, it is no longer the atmosphere or situation that controls your life. It is God. Let us approach Him with expectant hearts – knowing that He loves us and will do what is best for us. He is our loving Father, who gives us good things. Let us approach Him with faith, trust and honour.