If You Doubt You Don’t Get It

2 Kings 7:2
The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?”
“You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it!”

James 1:6
But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

James 1:7
That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

James 1:8
Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

You don’t get it has two meanings. First, it means you don’t understand what is going on or being explained. Your conclusion about the story is wrong because you don’t get it. You are angry, yet you should be happy about the report because you don’t get it. The message today is that, if you doubt, it is because you don’t get it. You don’t understand it that is why you are doubting. You do not understand how it works or what it means that is why you doubt it. If you doubt you don’t get it!

Secondly, you don’t get it means that you will not receive what you were to be given. Whatever it is that you were to receive is only given to those who don’t doubt. If you doubt you don’t get it. If you doubt, you will not be given, you will not receive what was due to you. There are blessings for those who believe, but because you doubt, you will not be given those blessings. If you doubt you don’t get it!

Both meanings will properly apply in the interpretation of our text today. Our text today tells us of a famine in the city of Samaria caused by Arameans or Syrians laying a siege around the city. Cities those days were small and were surrounded by high strong walls. Enemies had to break the walls in order to attack the city. Another way to bring a city down, in case it had very strong walls, was to surround it for a very long time so that nobody goes in and out. The food in the city and other supplies will run out over time and they will die of hunger and either open the gates and get attacked or just die. Strong armies that couldn’t break walls would surround a city. To surround a city is to lay siege. The Arameans or Syrians were unable to break into the Israelite city of Samaria, and so they besieged it.

Because of the siege, life was very hard in Samaria. The suffering was terrible. People were buying dung for food at a very high price, 2 Kings 6:25. Some women even killed and ate their children in an attempt to save the entire family, 2 Kings 6:28-29. The situation seemed hopeless. The Arameans or Syrians were ready to kill everybody if the gate opened. The famine in the city was now killing people. It was hopeless. Elisha the prophet of God appeared at this hopeless time and told the king that the next day will be a good day, 2 Kings 7:1. Elisha said, the next day, God will provide so much food in the city that the best of foods will be cheapest. As Elisha said this, the famine was on and the besieging army was still surrounding the city.

To believe what Elisha was telling the king required faith. There was no supporting evidence that such a thing could even happen in the next few months or years. An official sitting next to the king told Elisha that what he had said would never happen even if God opened windows of heaven, 2 Kings 7:2. Elisha told him in our text today, that because he has doubted God’s promise, he will see the food in plenty, but he will not eat it. If you doubt you don’t get it!

While this was happening in Samaria, something else was happening outside the city unknown to everybody. As the custom was and in order to control infectious disease, Samaritan lepers (people suffering from leprosy) were thrown out of the city. The four lepers could not go back to the city, lest they die of hunger in the city or even stoning by people who were afraid of their leprosy. These lepers could not move around freely while outside the city because the city area was surrounded by Arameans or Syrians. The lepers were so hungry and they decided to go to the Arameans and ask for food, 2 kings 7:3-4. When they got to the military camp of the Arameans, they found nobody. God had caused Arameans to hear sounds of huge approaching armies and they all ran away to save their lives, 2 Kings 7:5-6. To make a long story short, and you can always read it for yourself, all the food the Arameans left behind was now availed to the city of Samaria. As the prophet Elisha said, the next day the food was excess in the city.

The officer who doubted Elisha’s word of God, was at the gate of the city when people were rushing in and out with plenty of food from the Aramean military camp. In the stampede he was accidentally thrown down and he was stepped on by the rushing hungry and excited crowd and he died, 2 Kings 7:17-20. As Elisha had promised him, he saw the food but he never ate it. If you doubt you don’t get it!

This man who died, died because he did not understand that nothing is impossible with God. He doubted because he didn’t understand the power of God. What is totally impossible to happen now, can still happen if God says so. That is why we relate to God by faith. We have faith in the power of God. What seems impossible now, when we pray, we believe it can and will happen, because God is able. Those who doubt do not understand the power of God. They don’t get it. If you doubt you don’t get it!

The Bible in the book of James cited above tells us that those who doubt will not receive anything from God. They will not get the blessings they desire because they doubt that God can do it. They will not receive what others who believe will be getting. If you doubt you don’t get it. The man who doubted Elisha’s word did not receive and enjoy the food that others were getting because he doubted. If you doubt you don’t get it!

God can heal, if you doubt you don’t get it. Meaning you do not understand and appreciate God’s power to heal and therefore God will not heal you. God can heal, if you doubt you don’t get it. God can change your situation in business and at work, if you doubt you don’t get it. If you return tithes and offerings God will abundantly bless you with excess blessings if you doubt you don’t get it. You can pass this examination if you pray and do your best, if you doubt you don’t get it. This relationship can get better if you pray and actively play your God-given role in this relationship, if you doubt you don’t get it. These children can still be helped if you pray and do your best in parenting, if you doubt you don’t get it. If you doubt you don’t get it!

This huge sin you have committed repeatedly is forgivable and you can be empowered never to repeat it, just pray and play your role of keeping off temptation places and people, if you doubt you don’t get it. Nothing is impossible with God. What God denies you today, means He will provide something better at the right time soon, if you doubt you don’t get it. If you do your best and wait on God, something greater than today is coming, if you doubt you don’t get it. If you doubt you don’t get it!

Your personal vision for a better life can never succeed if you doubt it. You can’t write a book if you doubt it will sell. You can’t excel in what you doubt its benefits in the future. If we doubt each other in a relationship, the relationship suffers. If you doubt your product you can’t market it. If you doubt it is a waste to put effort because doubt will pull you back. Doubt will kill ideas and dreams. Doubt will stagnate any and all progress. We must address doubt and work on our plans with optimism. There is no bright future for anyone who doubts. That is why successful people take risks. They risk because they have less doubt and much more optimism. If you doubt you don’t get it!

We have not acted on our plans because we doubt. A lot of rationalization behind the delay is actually doubt. We have not done what we had a lot of energy to do, because we have doubt. The idea has not become a reality, because, at the time of implementation, doubt creeps in. We would have started a path to recovery but we doubt if we will get well and therefore deep within us we have given up and our body doesn’t support the medication that should heal us. If we do not address doubt, we are doomed spiritually, socially, financially, academically, physically, etc. If you doubt you don’t get it!

Mark 9:24 a father of a sick child cries to Jesus that he believes Jesus can heal but he still has some doubts and therefore Jesus should help him overcome that doubt so that his son is healed. “I believe you can heal him, help me overcome my unbelief (doubts)” That is my payer today. I pray that I will not doubt my own plans and God’s promises. I believe God will answer my prayer. I believe God will sort my issues. I believe God has planned better days for me. I believe, help me overcome my unbelief, in Jesus’ name, Amen!