Lemons Into Lemonade
Bob Yandian
“So, he (the Samaritan) went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.” (Luke 10:34)
The Good Samaritan took the man who was stripped of his clothing, beaten, and wounded, to an inn to be cared for. First, he bandaged his wounds and poured on oil and wine. Then He took him to an inn because he expected the oil and wine to work. The inn was a place to anticipate his soon return to health.
Oil and wine are two staples of life in the Middle East countries. During the tribulation, the angel announces not to harm the oil and wine (Revelation 6:6). Their use will still be needed.
It is not so much the elements themselves that are important, but what they stand for. Oil is a type of the ministry of healing the Lord provides for us and through us to others. When members of the congregation are sick, James instructs them to pray over the sick anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. They are promised the prayer of faith will heal the sick and the Lord will raise them up (James 5:14-15). Wine is also an element representing healing. But it is primarily a symbol of joy and celebration. The rejoicing over the healing of the person should not begin when the sickness and symptoms are gone, but immediately after hands are laid on the sick person. Rejoicing is an expression of faith and assurance that healing is taking place right now whether we can see it or not. We see the surface and faith sees what is going on below the surface. When the prayer of faith is made, we need to shift our sight to the prayer of faith at work bringing healing now. When Jesus cursed the fig tree, it died from the roots up, instantly. The tree still looked the same after Jesus prayed but it could not be seen on the outside until the next day when the leaves were withering. Whether we see it or not, our praying of the Word of God is already at work below the surface. Why wait? Let’s begin rejoicing now. Bring out the wine.
Types of Oil
Two Hebrew words are found in the Old Testament for oil. The first is general use oil and the second is more refined. The first is mainly translated oil and the second as ointment. The first oil is for cooking, as the widow received from Elijah the prophet. The second oil is medical, for healing, as with the Good Samaritan.
Oil and wine announce faith and celebration, “Healing has begun already. It is on its way. I will be healthy and happy again soon.”
Turning Satan’s Evil Into Good
Life is filled with many problems, but the Lord has promised “He will deliver us from them all” (Psalm 34:19). Have you ever been viciously attacked by people’s words, gossiped about, plotted against, and accused by friends? Then, was it a surprise to you when you found out? You did not know it was coming, but God did. Every one of us have been through evil plots from Satan, human enemies, and even those we thought were friends. We learn lessons through the good times, and we learn lessons through the bad. Quit thinking you are unique and no one else has ever been through what you are going through or just came through. Satan has no new problems. He just gives them a different title each time. In fact, look up your problem in the Word of God. Surely, someone went through the same problem, or one similar, and God delivered them. Temptations, evil accusations, lies, plots behind your back, and giants of problems are still here today. If God has delivered before, He will deliver again. Start rejoicing now.
You are in the same family as Moses, Noah, Joshua, the children of Israel in the desert, and even in the promised land. You haven’t been swallowed by a whale yet or needed the sun to stop for a full day. God has done it before, and He will do it again. Just begin quoting Paul in Romans 8:31, “what then shall I say to these things (tribulation, distress, persecution, etc.)? If God is for me, what can be against me?” Speak to your problems you are facing today and understand they have showed up in thousands of generations before you. The believers handled them through speaking God’s word at them. Jesus spoke to sickness, problems, and storms and gave us the same authority to speak to problem trees and mountains. Just look your problem in the face and say, “If God is for me, you cannot be against me. When this is over, you will be gone, and I will still be standing here. I am going to outlast you.”
Why Didn’t I Know It Was Coming?
We often search for a voice or leading we must have missed. “God must have tried to tell me, and I wasn’t listening.” The man lying in the road did not expect to be beaten, robbed, and left for dead. He did not wake up that morning knowing this would happen. The thieves planned it in secret, then did it quickly thinking they had fully killed him. They did not know he was half dead, partially alive. I’m sure as he was left in the road, he thought he would die. The priest and Levite both saw him and did nothing. What a blessing it was when the Samaritan arrived and began to dress his wounds and poured in oil and wine. The point is, he did not die. He survived. God does not tell you everything but expects you to use what you already have - the power of His Word and the Holy Spirit. And, let patience have its perfect work. While you rejoice, know your answer is at work right now, patiently wait for the full manifestation. Satan hates rejoicing, patient Christians.
I Think God is Through With Me
After your attack, were you still alive? Then there is still hope. You may think God is through with you. But I have a test to see if God has a plan for the rest of your life. Put your hand on your heart. If it is still beating, God is not through with you. How you as a believer handle the unexpected problems of life is a visible display to others of your faith in God.
I’m sure you have heard the example of turning lemons into lemonade. It is seeing your problems as a new beginning for greater advances in life. Lemons must be crushed to make lemonade. Olives must be crushed to make olive oil. And grapes must be crushed to make wine.
In the Bible, stomping on the grapes was a time of rejoicing as people anticipated the coming wine. They were not lamenting over the time it took to raise the grapes or regret losing the grapes. These grapes were saved for the time of producing wine. The women who stomp the grapes were dancing and rejoicing over the wine to soon come. This is how you should be looking at the loss of many of the things you might possess. It’s time to throw a party now in anticipation of the greater joy to come.
A Bible Prophecy of Jesus Preparing an Eternal Wine of Joy
Jesus will one day stomp on all the nations like women stomp on grapes. Like juice running from grapes, the blood of wicked nations will rise to the horse’s bridles and run for 185 miles (Revelation 14:20). This will be a time of fear for the sinner. It is God’s judgment for the rejectors of His Son. But it will be a time of rejoicing for believers as they anticipate the soon coming rulership of Jesus over the earth. The outcome of the terrible battle is the great and eternal kingdom of God.
Your problems are temporary, but your answers are eternal. Anything God fixes or replaces has eternal value. If you try to fix it, it will be temporary. But when God fixes it, it is eternal and can even have eternal rewards for you in heaven. Your deliverance can be used for a testimony to bring someone to the Lord and to eternal salvation. Even angels rejoice over that. You have been left here, after your salvation, for eternal reasons.
Start Rejoicing Now
Instead of waiting for a visible reason to have joy, start rejoicing now. Look at God’s provision in the middle of your circumstances. Faith does not rejoice when the answer to the prayer comes. It rejoices at the time of the prayer, the quoting of the scripture you expect to come to pass, and the “amen” that came at the end of your prayer. Praise to God when the prayer ends, irritates the enemy. You are saved when you believe in Jesus, not when you feel saved or find yourself living for the Lord. Smile at the “amen” to your prayer of salvation. It is yours whether you feel like it or not.
“Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls – Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17-18).
