Daily Bible Reading: 2 Kings 13, Ezekial 3, 2 Corinthians 10-112 Kings 13:15-19 Elisha said, "Get a bow and some arrows," and he did so. "Take the bow in your hands," he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king's hands. "Open the east window," he said, and he opened it. "Shoot!" Elisha said, and he shot. "The LORD's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!" Elisha declared. "You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek."
Then he said, "Take the arrows," and the king took them. Elisha told him, "Strike the ground." He struck it three times and stopped. The man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times."
I was bewildered by Elisha’s request for the King to shoot arrows to the ground. Somehow that, along with shooting one out the window, related to him having victory over the Arameans. I still don’t completely understand how the one thing relates to the other...but I also don’t understand why Jesus had to mix spit with dirt and rub it on the blind man’s eyes for his sight to be restored! God works in mysterious ways!
My theory is perhaps the king needed to learn how to submit to God (through the prophet’s commands), even when he didn’t understand it. There have been many times when I felt that still small voice or a check in my spirit leading me in a certain direction. The test isn’t when the small voice or the check makes sense...the test is when I don’t understand. Will I obey anyway, or will I wait to find out the hard way? When everything seems perfect in the natural, but in the spiritual I feel uneasy, will I still trust that God knows best?
I have learned that true submission, is obeying as if it was your own idea! We can get pretty excited about something that is our own idea, but sometimes when we have to go along with someone else’s (especially when we don’t agree) we can sometimes do so with a poor attitude or with reluctance. I can imagine the king thought the prophets commands were silly. He may have laxly shot an arrow out the window, and a few at the ground...but he didn’t submit as if it was his own idea. He lacked a passionate follow-through. The king didn’t put his whole heart into it, and therefore didn’t get the full and complete blessing.
Col. 3:23-24 says "And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ."
Heartily means with all of your heart. Even when God’s requests don’t make sense, will you still obey with all of your heart? Will you still submit heartily as if it were your own idea? Will you do it with a spirit of excellence as unto the Lord?
Joyce Meyer says, "If you want to be radically and outrageously blessed you have to be radically and outrageously obedient!" The next time God whispers something into your heart, I pray that instead of a spirit of reluctance you would respond with obedience, as if it was your own idea. You may be only a couple more arrows away from your full victory!
Thanks for reading and responding,
Melissa Miller
Tomorrow’s reading: 2 Kings 14, Ezekial 4, 2 Corinthians 12-13
1 comment:
The test comes when we don't understand and the other part of the challenge comes when obeying God means being submissive to people, and whether we agree with them or not we do what we are told to do by them. It's easy to say we'll obey God, but when the command comes from a man (sure he was put in authority by God, but you know what I mean), and on top of that we don't understand it, there's where we are being tested.
I believe the king would have reacted differently, if it would have been him hearing from God. But I think he was learning not only obedience and submission, but also humility. Great insight Mel!
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