MOVING ON

MESSAGE FOR THE WIDOWS

Pst. Grace W. Ngaruiya

DEFINITION

WIDOW: A woman who has lost her spouse by death and has not married again. The Hebrew word for widow is ‘almana’ and has appeared 56 times in the Old Testament and 26 times in the New Testament.

INTRODUCTION

You can never be somebody else. God will use you the way you are. Tap from the source Jesus Christ. Christ is able to change the end of your hope to a thunderous victory- 2nd Kings 7:3. The lepers had reached the end of hope; they were neglected and stayed at the gate. God can, when He pleases, make the stoutest heart to tremble; and as for those who will not fear God, He can make them fear at the shaking of a leaf. Providence ordered it, that the lepers came as soon as the syrians were fled.

MOVE ON

I admire people with the courage to face hard choices, make a decision, and move forward in faith. In 2 Kings, Benhadad, King of Syria, laid siege to Samaria, the capital city pf Israel. The result was a famine so severe that a donkey’s head sold for 80 pieces of silver, dove feces sold for five, and the women of the city cannibalized their own children. Four lepers, outcasts from society, sat at the gate of Samaria. Because of their disease, it is doubtful anyone in the city cared what became of them. Like the rest of Samaria, these four men were starving to death. Unlike the rest of Samaria, they decided to do something besides eat bird droppings and each other. Just like the lepers moved on despite their situation, I would encourage you to move on.

The lepers began by asking the most important question: “Why sit we here until we die?” Unfortunately, most people never even reach the point where they ask that question, choosing instead to sit around and complain about their circumstances. The lepers also realized they had just three options:

1. Enter the city and starve
2. Sit at the gate and starve
3. Go to the camp of the enemy on the slim chance the Syrians would give them something to eat.

Out of the three, only option C offered any hope whatsoever. There was a better than average chance- Moving on and not going backwards. The Syrians would kill them outright, but perhaps they would have mercy…At twilight the four lepers began walking towards the camp of Syria. There are very important things we see here:

They woke up early:

• What time do you wake up? Get out of your to do?
• And as they went, God worked a miracle that saved the city.
• Are you on the move? Do not dwell on the seat of self pity.

God did not use the king or his cautious counselors (2 Kings 7.2): He used four societal outcasts who were willing to face the facts, make a decision, and move forward in faith.At some point in life, we all face what appear to bea no-win situations. Sometimes it seems every road leads to ruin but when we step out in faith, we open the door for God to work a miracle.

EXAMPLES OF WIDOWS WHO CHOSE TO MOVE ON:

RUTH

• Widowed at an early age
  • Moved on
  • Chose to take the God of Naomi
  • Was blessed and even falls under the genealogy of Jesus Christ
  • Chose to stay with Naomi and serve her God though she was old

ORPAH

• Widowed at an early age
  • Moved on
  • Chose to follow other gods
  • Her story ended there because she chose other gods
  • Chose to go because her husband had gone

Are you busy? With ministry and Income generating activities?

Many widows have chosen to move on but to where? What about you? Orpah never became a woman of

widowed woman if young and gets a husband note this this is not a sin-1st Timothy 5: 9-11.

1stCorinthians 7 : 8 & 9 .Take care of yourself, have the best hair style, grab the best opportunity like Jacob. Esau was too slow to grab blessings – Genesis 27. The widow of Zarephath grabbed the blessings by obeying the servant of the Most High God. She had reached the end of life and was

God opened doors for her He can open doors for you.

CONCLUSION

Make that choice today and move boldly forward, knowing God will go with you. Call upon the highest priest – JESUS CHRIST. The environment around you should depend on you and we should be solution providers. Look for a Naomi- Do not be alone. You need a mentor. Listen to an older person since they see far. You must not shut out opportunities. Listen to the prophets: 2nd Chronicles 20: 20. God bless you as you move.