2 Kings 7:10-14: a reflection

10So they came and called to the city gatekeepers; and they told them, “We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, not even a man’s voice, but the horses tied, and the donkeys tied, and the tents as they were.” 11Then the gatekeepers called out and told it to the king’s household within. 12The king arose in the night, and said to his servants, “I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry. Therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive, and get into the city.’” 13One of his servants answered, “Please let some people take five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city. Behold, they are like all the multitude of Israel who are left in it. Behold, they are like all the multitude of Israel who are consumed. Let’s send and see.” 14Therefore they took two chariots with horses; and the king sent them out to the Syrian army, saying, “Go and see.”

When a besieged and starving Samaria is on the brink of ruin, the deliverance God sends has already happened before anyone in the city knows it. The enemy army, God had caused to hear a great sound, had already fled in the night, abandoning their camp full of food and goods; the siege was already lifted, the deliverance already accomplished. But the starving city did not yet know it; and when lepers bring word that the enemy camp stands empty, the king suspects a trap and can scarcely believe the deliverance is real. Yet real it was; God's deliverance was already done, the enemy already gone, the provision already waiting, needing only to be received. The rescue was accomplished before the city grasped it; all that remained was to go out and take hold of what God had already provided.

Notice that the deliverance was already accomplished before the city knew it. While Samaria still starved, still feared, still saw no way out, the enemy had already fled and the camp already stood full and empty, waiting. God's deliverance was done; the provision was already there. The city's task was not to win the deliverance but to believe it and go out and receive what God had already given. The king's suspicion could not change the fact: the enemy was gone, the food was there, the rescue was accomplished. Sometimes God's deliverance is already done before we perceive it; the victory already won, the provision already waiting, needing only to be received. What God has already accomplished stands, whether or not we have yet grasped it. The deliverance was real, waiting to be taken hold of.

That is worth resting in, for God's deliverance may already be accomplished, waiting only to be received. We can still be gripped by fear and see no way out, while God's deliverance has already been done, the provision already waiting, as the empty enemy camp already stood full while Samaria still starved. Sometimes what we are still anxiously waiting for God to do, he has already done; the deliverance is accomplished, needing only to be believed and received. Do not be so gripped by fear that you cannot receive the deliverance God may already have accomplished; go out and take hold of what he has provided. Trust that God's deliverance may already be accomplished, waiting only to be received, as the enemy had already fled and the camp already stood full of provision while starving Samaria still despaired; for sometimes what we are anxiously waiting for God to do he has already done, and the victory already won and the provision already waiting need only to be believed and taken hold of rather than won by us.

Lord, when a besieged and starving Samaria is on the brink of ruin, the deliverance you send has already happened before anyone in the city knows it. The enemy army, you had caused to hear a great sound, had already fled in the night, abandoning their camp full of food and goods; the siege was already lifted, the deliverance already accomplished. But the starving city did not yet know it; and when lepers bring word that the enemy camp stands empty, the king suspects a trap and can scarcely believe the deliverance is real. Yet real it was; your deliverance was already done, the enemy already gone, the provision already waiting, needing only to be received. Show me that the deliverance was already accomplished before the city knew it. While Samaria still starved, still feared, still saw no way out, the enemy had already fled and the camp already stood full and empty, waiting. Your deliverance was done; the provision was already there. The city's task was not to win the deliverance but to believe it and go out and receive what you had already given. Sometimes your deliverance is already done before we perceive it. Let me rest in that, for your deliverance may already be accomplished, waiting only to be received. I can still be gripped by fear and see no way out, while your deliverance has already been done, as the empty enemy camp already stood full while Samaria still starved. Sometimes what I am still anxiously waiting for you to do, you have already done. Keep me from being so gripped by fear that I cannot receive the deliverance you may already have accomplished; help me go out and take hold of what you have provided, Lord.