Linking Our Impotence to God’s Omnipotence

 

Linking Our Impotence to God’s Omnipotence

But this is only a simple thing for the Lord…

2 Kings 3:18 NLT

Darlene Deibler, who was imprisoned in a Japanese prison camp during WWII, had been moved to the Kempeitai prison where she was held by herself in a small cell. Enduring bearings and interrogation, she relied heavily on the Lord. When she had been held there for some time starving, interrogated daily, and lonely, she was looking out of the one small window in her cell out to a small courtyard down below. While she watched the prisoners being allowed to walk around, she saw someone from outside the prison sneak something to one of the women. She caught a glimpse of the item before the woman hid it, and it was a bunch of bananas. The sight of those bananas stirred up such a longing for just one banana. Darlene had eaten mostly rice water since she had come to Kempeitai. Oh how she wanted a banana! She pleaded with the Lord, “Lord, just one banana.” But as she thought about it, she realized the utter impossibility of getting even one banana. She only had contact with a few people and those were her interrogators and the prison guard. The interrogators would never offer a banana to her, and the guard would not risk his life to bring her one, and she wouldn’t want him to. It seemed impossible. But she said, “What I needed to do was link my impotence to God’s omnipotence.” 

I was reminded of this story as I studied 2 Kings 3. The king of Israel joined with the kings of Judah and Edom to go fight against Moab. On their way through the wilderness of Edom, they became desperate for water. There was no water for the army or for the cattle to drink. The king of Israel despairs and yet the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, seeks out God’s prophet, Elisha. The hand of the Lord comes upon Elisha. “And he said, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Make this valley full of trenches.” For thus says the LORD, “You shall not see wind nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts.This is but a slight thing in the sight of the LORD; He will also give the Moabites into your hand”’”(2 Kings 3:16-18). God does as He says and the next morning “water comes by the way of Edom and the country was filled with water” (2 Kings 3:20). Then when the Moabites come out to fight against Israel, Judah, and the Edomites, the sun reflecting off of the water deceives the Moabites and they think it is blood and that the kings have fought against one another. The Moabites rush in to collect the spoil, but the Israelites rise up and defeat them. In one unexplainable and impossible act, the provision of water, God provides for their thirst AND defeats their enemies. Their impotence needed God’s omnipotence. 

Several things to notice in this story. First, it can be our human tendency to respond with misjudgment. That could manifest itself as doubt, like in Darlene’s case, or in assuming that God does not have good purposes in our situation. Prior to Jehoshaphat seeking Elisha’s help, the king of Israel had despaired and had twice said, “the LORD has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab” (2 Kings 3:13). Additionally we may respond in worry and anxiety forgetting the great care of our God for His children. Despite our human tendency to look at the temporal, God enables us to look beyond those things and turn to the truth. Jehoshaphat, seeing the dire situation, responds by suggesting that they find a prophet through whom they could inquire of the Lord, and upon hearing that Elisha was near, he confidently said, “The word of the Lord is with him” (2 Kings 3:12). Their lack of strength was evident, but they were beginning to turn their gaze to the power of God. Like Jehoshaphat, we too can seek out the word of the Lord and inquire of the Lord. In other words, turn to the Scriptures and to God in prayer and begin to see anew the power that He works on behalf of His children.

Secondly, their obedience was required before they saw the provision of the Lord. They were to make the valley full of trenches in anticipation of the Lord’s answer to their need. There are not always acts of obedience that must be done before we see God answer, but there should always be a humble submission to the will of God in our circumstance when we come to Him, so that what He does ask of us we are willing to do.

Thirdly, God can make a way when there seems to be no way and it’s an easy thing for Him. Elisha told them the Lord said they would see neither wind nor rain and yet He would provide the water they needed. “We need not inquire whence the water came. God is not tied to second causes” (Matthew Henry). This was the crux of the matter for Darlene sitting in her tiny cell with seemingly no way to get even one banana. It is for us as well. How many times do we look at our situation, and even having prayed about it, we still try to figure out how God could do it? It seems impossible. There appears no way things could turn out advantageously. But our God is not tied to second causes. His power is unlimited and exceedingly great. There is nothing that is too difficult for Him.

And even more amazing? He said in 2 Kings 3:18 that this need was slight in the sight of the Lord. This was an easy thing. Simple. So easy and light that God said He would also defeat their enemies and did both things with one provision. The water quenched their thirst and deceived their enemies which led to the defeat of their enemies. He can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or even think. And He has done that and will continue to do it over and over. Heaven will be filled with witnesses to the immeasurably great power of our God, who worked on behalf of His children against all odds.  

Returning to Darlene. The very next morning the commander of the camp where Darlene had been held before she was brought to Kempeitai prison, Mr. Yamaji, came to see her briefly. This was very strange and surprising as he was known for his brutality and heartlessness. He exchanged a few words with Darlene and left. Darlene then recalls the prison guard returning to her room after Mr. Yamaji had left, “and with a sweeping gesture laid at my feet— bananas! ‘They're yours,’he said, ‘and they're all from Mr. Yamaji.’ I sat down in stunned silence and counted them. There were ninety-two bananas! In all my spiritual experience, I've never known such shame before my Lord. I pushed the bananas into a corner and wept before Him. ‘Lord, forgive me; I'm so ashamed. I couldn't trust You enough to get even one banana for me. Just look at them-there are almost a hundred.’”

Like Darlene and the kings of Israel and Judah, let’s link our impotence, our lack of power and strength, to His omnipotence. Let’s see what He can do.

Photo credit to tchompalov