In our text, Sumeria found itself in the midst of a great famine due to a siege by the Syrians. The bible paints a picture of great desperation and need. Four men began to realize: If we go the city we will die. If we sit here we will die. If we go to the Syrians, they may kill us, but we may leave. All three options carried with it the possibility of death. Only one option held any possibility of life. Of all the options, only one offered even a glimmer of hope. In our time of need, we cannot go back to where we were. In time of need, we cannot sit still, In time of need we have to move forward. It might be a place of death, but it might also be a place of deliverance. At this point, what did they have to lose?

God went ahead of these men and caused the Syrians to run in fear. They walked into an empty camp. Those people in the City were in the same situation as these four men, but had not yet reached the point of need. In the city they were acting out of desperation not need. Desperation is marked by irrational decisions, but true need shows a clear course. When we get to the point where we are tired oft moving from desperate decision to desperate decision, we can begin to act out of our need and not out of desperation.

The enemy whispers to us: you are dying, where you are and there is no hope. Until we get to the point of need that these four men got to, we will die where we lay. When we get to the point of refusing to lye still and die, our need can cause us to move to a place where He has provided. When we respond to a need the way God wants us to, we will discover that our need is much larger than we thought it would It will affect more than just ourselves. These men were able to return to the city and lead them to the place of provision.

Our situation my seem dire. We may not see a way out. There comes a point when we must be brave enough to embrace our need and be moved to a place where God can provide. We have to give God the opportunity to meet our need. When we get to the point where we realize that we are dying where we are, we can turn our situation around. We must not be paralyzed by fear and doubt. Our need will propel us. Our need will drive us to the alter. Our need will propel us to a place of greater relationship with God. That is the need for a need.