Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him…Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” And he put his hand on it, then Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. He said, “Open the window toward the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Aram; for you will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have destroyed them.” Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and stopped. So the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck it five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you would have destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.”
– 2 Kings 13:14-19
Devotion
As Elisha was nearing death, he had one last message concerning the Syrians. King Joash came to visit the ailing prophet. This tender encounter shows while many of the evil kings of Israel despised God’s servants, those who had any sensitivity to God loved them and saw the value of their ministry to the nation. In this final encounter, Elisha gave Joash assurances of future victories over the Syrians. He did this in two symbolic acts involving bow and arrows. What a beautiful picture of the prophet’s hands on the king’s hands holding the bow together. This was the way it was supposed to work in Israel. Then came the second symbolic act. Given the context, it seems that Joash should have understood the symbolism behind the striking of arrows on the ground (that this laying hold of God’s promises of victory, thus he limited what God would do for Israel). Elisha’s stern rebuke implies that Joash did not exercise strong enough faith in laying hold of God’s promises of victory, thus, he limited what God would do for Israel.
The Big Question
Is there some area in your life where you may be limiting what God desires to do? Has God been nudging you to step out in faith and invite Him to unleash many more victories over the enemies that assail you?
Spend some time in prayer meditating on what God revealed to you today.