Lay It on Me

W HEN G OD G ETS IN YOUR S HOES / 95

"All people want from farmers is food?" If all you ever hear is MONEY when the offerings are received, then you need to clean out your ears. It is all about OBEDIENCE! Salvation comes through obedience; healing comes through obedience. In fact, ALL spiritual blessings come through obedience to God. If you are waiting for a giant door to open, think again. Little doors open first; after you walk through them, you will see more open doors. Ruth had to listen to the words of Boaz and obey them in order to obtain the blessing.  A Rhythm of Blessing Follows Favor and Obedience After years of faithfulness in your field of labor, there is a rhythm of blessing that you can encounter. Often you feel you are always planting seed and giving of yourself. The ultimate breakthrough seems impossible. Don't be discouraged. In the Bible a Shunammite woman, after years of struggle, finally tapped into the rhythm of blessing. She and her husband prepared a chamber for the prophet Elijah. It was a place for him to spend the night as he traveled from "revival" to revival (2 Kings 4:8-10). As a result, she received five major miracles in her life.  Although she was physically barren, God gave her a son (2 Kings 4:14-17).  Her son died but God raised him from the dead (2 Kings 4:20-37).  She was warned of a seven-year famine, and was protected from the devastation during the famine (2