Be faithful to God and see that He meets our needs

I have always thought that it is important, when we approach the Lord, that we feel that confidence and that authority that comes from knowing that we have been in the Will of the Lord, that we have done what is on our part to please God. Our good works do not guarantee anything before the Lord, our own justice is not enough to justify us before God but it helps when one is clear regarding his relationship with God; when one knows that one is serving the Lord, that one is trying to do the Will of God, that one is sanctifying oneself as much as possible with the help of the Holy Spirit, that one is trying to live the best life one can live before the Presence of God, then one can approach with more confidence.

This is our third segment about the widow who approached Eliseo with an urgent request due to the death of her husband and the debt that she owed to these creditors who wanted to take her children in payment of the debt. We see that this first verse is full of excellent teachings. It says that this woman approaches Elisha, cries out to him and says: "Your servant, my husband has died, and you know that your servant was afraid of the Lord."

When one is being indecisive and lukewarm in the things of the Lord, when one is not serving the Lord, when one is not giving the Kingdom of God, it is much more difficult to come before the Lord with that confidence, that assurance that one has.

Authority in the Kingdom of God comes from knowing that we have the Lord's support because we are within His Will and we are doing our part. When we feel that there is unresolved, untreated sin in our life, it takes away our confidence and authority before the Lord.

I think of the attitude of Adam and Eve that the Bible says that when God approached the Garden to have a conversation with them, they hid, why? Because they knew they had sinned, because they knew that an element that was not there before had already been introduced into their minds because they had disobeyed the Lord's command not to eat from the tree of knowledge, of good and evil. Their hearts already accused them, their conscience was contaminated, they felt dirty, they felt naked and that is why they psychologically tried to cover themselves with leaves trying to cover their bad conscience, and that is why they shun that Presence of God that before they I imagine they were looking for they were happy to participate in it.

But when one has not served the Lord then one does not dare to come with that assurance, that clarity. And so this woman approaches Elisha and says: "Your servant, my husband, has died, and you know that your servant was fearing Jehovah." She has elements to approach the prophet and reminds him that this man is his servant and that he had served the Lord, and therefore she felt that she could approach Elisha to receive mercy from him.

It is important brothers that in our normal life we accumulate works not to justify ourselves, but for our own benefit to feel that support from the Presence of God. The Bible says that we accumulate works for the Kingdom of God, riches for the Kingdom of God, it says that we do not worry so much about accumulating money in this world where things are corrupted and lost, and are fragile but that we sow for eternity and for the Kingdom of God because there is no loss there.

We have to accumulate good works, we have to do things that benefit the Kingdom of God, we have to live diligent lives, we have to serve the Lord because when the time of trial and need comes then we are going to discover that We can approach with that confidence, with that assurance before the Throne of God, not because we believe that we are more righteous than anyone else or because God has to listen to our request but because we feel that we have the approval of our Heavenly Father.

The Bible is full of those cases where people who have struggled for the Kingdom of God when they feel in need can then appeal to the Lord. We have there, for example, the story of the centurion that his servant was dying and he then sent some Jews who are friends of Jesus to intercede for him, and these Jews approach the Lord and say: Lord, this man, this centurion to us. He built a synagogue, he is a God-fearing man and now his servant is sick, and he asks for your help.

And the Lord agreed to his request because evidently this was a righteous gentile, he was a God-fearing man, and there are so many cases like that. I do not remember the name of this woman who dies in the Book of Acts and when she dies, the brothers approach Pablo to pray for her, I know that you remember the story, now her name escapes me, and she talks about the good works she did when she was alive and the weavings she made for the poor, etc. Pablo, moved, goes to where the body of this woman is, prays for her and she is resurrected and comes back to life.

It is that there is something in that idea of serving the Lord, being faithful to Him and seeing that He responds to our needs. Good works do not justify us to salvation but they do prepare the way for many blessings that we can receive from the Hand of God. Let us live productive lives and sow because in a time of need we can reap and come before the Throne of God with all authority and confidence. God bless you and until our next message.