BEAUTIFUL, BUT NOT HAPPY

  



There are people who have everything but are not happy, while others are happy. Also, some people are very happy despite the fact that they do not have and vice versa. We hear and see a lot of things from time to time that make us think twice about our perspective of people. Everyone has one issue or the other they are faced with. Until you get close to some people or you hear other people’s experiences, you may think that your own situation in life is worse off.
2 KINGS 2:19 -22 says: 
“¹⁹ Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren.
 ²⁰ And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.  
²¹ Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness. 
 ²² So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke”.
The city in question in the above scriptures is a perfect example of what we see daily. It was pleasant, in a good spot, nice place and located in beautiful natural surroundings, but the water was bad and caused the women to have miscarriages (LIVING BIBLE). It could not produce crops and it was unproductive. This is the situation so many people in the world today are having. They have everything but are not happy. There are also people in a place of plenty but are still poor and broke, while some have access to wealth but they cannot get it.
Ironically, there are beautiful ladies and handsome guys who have good careers but no one is asking their hand in marriage. Some countries are so endowed with natural resources but they are very poor and they depend on other countries that do not have as much as they have. Also, some people out there have good degrees and various  certifications but do not have good jobs. They are still living from hand to mouth.
Luke 1:5-8 says: “ There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.  
⁶ And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.  
⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years”.
Elizabeth and her husband were from the families of priests who were righteous before God, who walked in his commandments and were blameless before him but had no baby. One would think that people like them should have everything because of the promises of God to the Israelites that say no one will be barren in the land (Deuteronomy 7:14 and Exodus 23:26). 
However, their case was the reverse. When a person, an investment or a thing that is supposed to be producing and yielding income is not producing as expected, then that person and investment may be seen as a liability and a waste which could lead to it being neglected. Jesus cursed the fig tree in the bible when he was hungry because he came to see if he could get some fruits from it to eat but he could not. Hence, he cursed it because the fruit of the fig tree generally appears before the leaves.
But I loved what Elisha did in 2 kings 2:19-22. He asked for a bowl and salt and later went to the source of the water and cast the salt in it. He also spoke the word of God that there shall be no more death or barrenness in it any more. The water became healed since then. What he did was very symbolic and I think we can learn from it.
Salt gives tastes to things and it can be used to preserve things, cleanse and preserve things. Everyone uses salt directly or indirectly and there is more to salt than what we use it for.
I can say that the salt represent skills, adding value to one’s life and making preparation for that career, marriage and business. We should not wait until those things come before we acquire them. The truth is that now that you are waiting, you should add salt or “taste” to your life.
Also, Elisha declared the word of God over the water. He spoke God’s word and not fear or wishes. He did not speak fear or curse himself or the people of that city. This is what we all should also be doing in whatever situations we find ourselves. 
The Bible says that the water remains healed to this day according to the word of Elisha. We should practice speaking God’s word over our lives, circumstances, situations and so on. 
“2 Corinthians 4:13 says “And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak”.
We should learn how to speak the word of God over our situations instead of complaining. We complain a lot and it has not fetched us any results. Speak and declare the word of God and his promises until something happens. We are in a battle ground called the war of words and we have to win it.  If you do not know how to speak God’s word, it is high time you started learning how to do it and speaking it consistently because the word of God works. There is no formula to speaking God’s word, just speak or declare it over that situation in your life.