November 30 Go Full Out

November 30

Go Full Out

2 Kings 13:15-19 And Elisha said to Joash, "Take a  bow and arrows." So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, "Draw the bow," and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. 17 And he said, "Open the window eastward," and he opened it. Then Elisha said, "Shoot," and he shot. And he said, "The Lord's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them." 18 And he said, "Take the arrows," and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground with them." And he struck three times and stopped. 19 Then the man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times."

HERE is a good place we could ask, "What's wrong with striking the arrows three times to the ground? How was Joash supposed to know what was required of him? How much would have satisfied the Lord?"

    The way we can answer the questions is to consider how much passion is required in the world to lead for Jesus today. We all have heard accounts of people who have done great things for the Lord. The common threads in these faithful lives is that each faced great opposition from the world (and sometimes inside the church) and their great passion for the Lord took them through the trials.

    We certainly see such trial and passionate perseverance in Jesus' life. What agony he experienced. What passion he demonstrated to fulfill the Father's will on the cross. We read Acts to see the Apostles' and early teachers' passion for Jesus. No thing could stop them! We consider people of faith whose name are known as "great Christians", and we must remember how they sacrificed a great deal - even their lives - for their love for Jesus. All of us as Jesus' disciples must be passionately persistent to fulfill the Great Commission that the church will continue to grow and teach of Jesus.

    Joash, though, seemed to miss the passion. I don't think a good king, truly desiring to obey God and be passionate for God would only strike an arrow three times to the ground. Given such a command from a Prophet, a godly, I believe a passionate leader would strike the ground until the arrow broke. This Miracle Number 21 in Elisha's ministry is a prophecy of limitation to ambivalent Joash. Joash's weak physical action revealed a weak heart. God would limit his victories.

    God wants passion in our hearts. He creates us new in Christ Jesus that we become a sharp arrow into the enemies of God. The Son went to the cross that we would be his children. We must passionately strike the world for his salvation to point the world to the final victory recorded in Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever."  

    There is no complacency, no half-hearted living for the King in the Kingdom of God.

Prayer: Lord God, grant me passion that I am willing to be broken to faithfully serve you. In Jesus' name, amen.