I recently read the inspirational and very touching story of one of the very few survivors of the (Zaire strain) EBOLA virus, Dr Ada Igonoh.
I was moved to tears. Her recount of her journey through the valley of the shadow of death, sent my faith level spiking. Such display of faith in such a hopeless situation is remarkable. With the smell of death all around her. The grim reaper Ebola, staring her in the face with a grin yet, she never gave up. She didn't moan (well maybe a little) and feel sorry for herself, no, she fought for her life literally speaking.
Even as she watched her fellow afflicted colleagues succumb to death, she could have given up but NO!
She held on tightly to her faith and Gods promises that she would not die, but live and declare the works of the Lord. Psalm 118:17. And live she did! She persevered, prayed and followed a simple instruction. Re-hydrate yourself and stay on top of the situation.
Keep drinking your ORS packs to strengthen and help your immunity fight the virus.
A simple but life saving instruction.
It didn't come from a pastor or prophet. It came from a volunteer worker whose faith we were told nothing about. It didn't matter who gave the instruction anyway, because God can speak through anyone if you'll listen. What mattered was that she obeyed and released her faith all over that simple instruction paraphrased as, 'Drink a lot'. Who says our God does not have the final say. The greatest healer is still relevant today. He is ever faithful to His word and merciful to the letter.
Our Divine Prescription
In this battle of life we all face, we too have a simple instruction that we need to follow. Its called a Divine Prescription. Our divine prescription will eliminate whatever that obstinate problem we have is. The doctor in my story didn't get any medications or medical prescriptions whatsoever. All she got was a simple instruction which was her divine prescription. We need to discover what our divine prescription is and then follow it to a 'T'.
It could be as simple as an advice not to eat certain foods anymore as it triggers an illness in you that you don't even know about. Or it could be to stop gossiping or lying. Or could be a leading or instruction to embark on a dry spiritual fast for a certain number of days. It could even be as mundane as stop being late for church!
The efficacy of our divine prescription lies in our obedience of it, just like it did for the doctor. Only God can issue out a divine prescription to us. This he can do through any means.
His word, His prophets, a child, stranger, an enemy, even a donkey if He chooses! (remember Balaam's donkey?) He could also speak to us too directly. He actually normally does through that still small voice.
If we're attentive, we'll know beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was God who spoke to us. The bible tells us that God's sheep know [hear] His voice and that of a stranger will they not follow. John 10: 27.
Gods ways are indeed unsearchable. Romans 11:33.
Silly Maybe, But Save It Will.
Naaman in 2 Kings 5, was the commander of the army of the king of Aram but he had leprosy.
His divine prescriptions came from 2 people actually.
1) The captive young girl from Israel, who served his wife and whose suggestion to him was to
"Go see the prophet who is in Samaria who would cure him of his leprosy.” He could have easily belittled the little girl as inconsequential and ignored her suggestion. After all, she was but a common slave.
But he didn't. He obeyed step one.
2) Prophet Elisha then asked him to “Go, wash himself seven times" in the (repulsive) river Jordan, and his flesh would then be restored and he would be cleansed.” At first he refused but immediately after he obeyed, he was made whole again. Silly instruction it appeared, but it made him whole.
What about the rebellious Israelites In the wilderness? They were struck with a plague of venomous snakes, but God gave Moses a divine prescription for them. He asked Moses to make a snake from bronze and raise it up on a pole. And as many of them would look up at it, would be saved. Numbers 21:9.
Silly instruction again right? But Moses obeyed and those who looked up and had faith were healed.
Remember the Shunnamite woman's son who died? Well, Elisha at first had sent his servant Gehazi ahead of him with his own simple instructions to "lay his staff on the face of the child..." but the child didn't awake. So he returned and told Elisha that the boy was still dead. The bible then tells us that AFTER Elisha prayed and sought for Gods own Divine Prescription the boy came back to life! 2 kings 4: 30-32.
It was also a simple instruction. He lay on the dead boys corpse, and aligned his mouth, eyes and hands with that of the boys. The boy sneezed 7 times (number of perfection) and arose. The divine prescription worked because it came after consultation with God first. Only God can give the specific remedy to a specific problem and that is why we need to hear from him first. Now, this again was another silly instruction perhaps, considering it involved something as morbid as kissing a corpse!
But God is God and his ways are not our ways. Isaiah 55:8.
There are indeed many more examples of simple instructions that were applied by Gods people in the bible. In every single case, their obedience of it brought healing, deliverance, victory and wholeness to them.
However, the most powerful of all simple instructions ever given to the world, which is also the most effective divine prescription for every single problem ever faced by mankind in the world today is found in Romans 10:9. "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Mankind was condemned because of sin. All of us were slated for destruction. But God sent His son, wrapped up in filthy flesh, a perfect man and offered him as a sacrifice for our sin. Then He raised him up on the cross and all we had to do was look up to him, have faith and be saved. Another Silly instruction many still say today. But these are simple instructions upon which the salvation and destiny of many are dependent today.
Why Others Not ?
The survivor in this story of incredible faith, could have been among the statistics, but she chose not to.
She made the choice to live. And God chose to show her mercy. Romans 9:15
Some might rightfully ask, "Well what about all her colleagues that died?"
"Her boss, the pregnant nurse, the ward maid and the numerous others in Liberia and Sierra-Leone that have also died?" "Didn't they want to live too?" "Didn't they get the same instructions and follow, or at least try to follow them as best as their failing strength allowed them to?" "Didn't they also have the same strong spiritual and moral support system of family and friends as Dr Igonoh did?".
His Mercy Speaks Loudest.
I'm sure they all fought to survive as best as they could. I also assume they tried their best to follow the instructions given them. But the grace to overcome was not sufficient for them. God alone knows why He chose Dr Igonoh to be a survivor and not the others. It couldn't have been by her efforts alone. Nor her prayers. Neither was her faith enough in the overall greater scheme of God's plan.
It was by God's divine Grace and divine Mercy. His grace and mercy always play a role in the final plan of everything He does. We play our part and ... "having done all we stand firm" Ephesians 6:13.
Mercy has the final say, after all has been said and done. He says in Romans 9:13: "...I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion". Gods thoughts and ways are not ours, they are unsearchable. He decides when and how he will get the glory from a situation.
And he has from Dr Igonoh' s healing.
Look to him today and live.
Be blessed
LCH
I was moved to tears. Her recount of her journey through the valley of the shadow of death, sent my faith level spiking. Such display of faith in such a hopeless situation is remarkable. With the smell of death all around her. The grim reaper Ebola, staring her in the face with a grin yet, she never gave up. She didn't moan (well maybe a little) and feel sorry for herself, no, she fought for her life literally speaking.
Even as she watched her fellow afflicted colleagues succumb to death, she could have given up but NO!
She held on tightly to her faith and Gods promises that she would not die, but live and declare the works of the Lord. Psalm 118:17. And live she did! She persevered, prayed and followed a simple instruction. Re-hydrate yourself and stay on top of the situation.
Keep drinking your ORS packs to strengthen and help your immunity fight the virus.
A simple but life saving instruction.
It didn't come from a pastor or prophet. It came from a volunteer worker whose faith we were told nothing about. It didn't matter who gave the instruction anyway, because God can speak through anyone if you'll listen. What mattered was that she obeyed and released her faith all over that simple instruction paraphrased as, 'Drink a lot'. Who says our God does not have the final say. The greatest healer is still relevant today. He is ever faithful to His word and merciful to the letter.
Our Divine Prescription
In this battle of life we all face, we too have a simple instruction that we need to follow. Its called a Divine Prescription. Our divine prescription will eliminate whatever that obstinate problem we have is. The doctor in my story didn't get any medications or medical prescriptions whatsoever. All she got was a simple instruction which was her divine prescription. We need to discover what our divine prescription is and then follow it to a 'T'.
It could be as simple as an advice not to eat certain foods anymore as it triggers an illness in you that you don't even know about. Or it could be to stop gossiping or lying. Or could be a leading or instruction to embark on a dry spiritual fast for a certain number of days. It could even be as mundane as stop being late for church!
The efficacy of our divine prescription lies in our obedience of it, just like it did for the doctor. Only God can issue out a divine prescription to us. This he can do through any means.
His word, His prophets, a child, stranger, an enemy, even a donkey if He chooses! (remember Balaam's donkey?) He could also speak to us too directly. He actually normally does through that still small voice.
If we're attentive, we'll know beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was God who spoke to us. The bible tells us that God's sheep know [hear] His voice and that of a stranger will they not follow. John 10: 27.
Gods ways are indeed unsearchable. Romans 11:33.
Silly Maybe, But Save It Will.
Naaman in 2 Kings 5, was the commander of the army of the king of Aram but he had leprosy.
His divine prescriptions came from 2 people actually.
1) The captive young girl from Israel, who served his wife and whose suggestion to him was to
"Go see the prophet who is in Samaria who would cure him of his leprosy.” He could have easily belittled the little girl as inconsequential and ignored her suggestion. After all, she was but a common slave.
But he didn't. He obeyed step one.
2) Prophet Elisha then asked him to “Go, wash himself seven times" in the (repulsive) river Jordan, and his flesh would then be restored and he would be cleansed.” At first he refused but immediately after he obeyed, he was made whole again. Silly instruction it appeared, but it made him whole.
What about the rebellious Israelites In the wilderness? They were struck with a plague of venomous snakes, but God gave Moses a divine prescription for them. He asked Moses to make a snake from bronze and raise it up on a pole. And as many of them would look up at it, would be saved. Numbers 21:9.
Silly instruction again right? But Moses obeyed and those who looked up and had faith were healed.
Remember the Shunnamite woman's son who died? Well, Elisha at first had sent his servant Gehazi ahead of him with his own simple instructions to "lay his staff on the face of the child..." but the child didn't awake. So he returned and told Elisha that the boy was still dead. The bible then tells us that AFTER Elisha prayed and sought for Gods own Divine Prescription the boy came back to life! 2 kings 4: 30-32.
It was also a simple instruction. He lay on the dead boys corpse, and aligned his mouth, eyes and hands with that of the boys. The boy sneezed 7 times (number of perfection) and arose. The divine prescription worked because it came after consultation with God first. Only God can give the specific remedy to a specific problem and that is why we need to hear from him first. Now, this again was another silly instruction perhaps, considering it involved something as morbid as kissing a corpse!
But God is God and his ways are not our ways. Isaiah 55:8.
There are indeed many more examples of simple instructions that were applied by Gods people in the bible. In every single case, their obedience of it brought healing, deliverance, victory and wholeness to them.
However, the most powerful of all simple instructions ever given to the world, which is also the most effective divine prescription for every single problem ever faced by mankind in the world today is found in Romans 10:9. "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Mankind was condemned because of sin. All of us were slated for destruction. But God sent His son, wrapped up in filthy flesh, a perfect man and offered him as a sacrifice for our sin. Then He raised him up on the cross and all we had to do was look up to him, have faith and be saved. Another Silly instruction many still say today. But these are simple instructions upon which the salvation and destiny of many are dependent today.
Why Others Not ?
The survivor in this story of incredible faith, could have been among the statistics, but she chose not to.
She made the choice to live. And God chose to show her mercy. Romans 9:15
Some might rightfully ask, "Well what about all her colleagues that died?"
"Her boss, the pregnant nurse, the ward maid and the numerous others in Liberia and Sierra-Leone that have also died?" "Didn't they want to live too?" "Didn't they get the same instructions and follow, or at least try to follow them as best as their failing strength allowed them to?" "Didn't they also have the same strong spiritual and moral support system of family and friends as Dr Igonoh did?".
His Mercy Speaks Loudest.
I'm sure they all fought to survive as best as they could. I also assume they tried their best to follow the instructions given them. But the grace to overcome was not sufficient for them. God alone knows why He chose Dr Igonoh to be a survivor and not the others. It couldn't have been by her efforts alone. Nor her prayers. Neither was her faith enough in the overall greater scheme of God's plan.
It was by God's divine Grace and divine Mercy. His grace and mercy always play a role in the final plan of everything He does. We play our part and ... "having done all we stand firm" Ephesians 6:13.
Mercy has the final say, after all has been said and done. He says in Romans 9:13: "...I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion". Gods thoughts and ways are not ours, they are unsearchable. He decides when and how he will get the glory from a situation.
And he has from Dr Igonoh' s healing.
Look to him today and live.
Be blessed
LCH