‘…Strike the ground…’ 2 Kings 13:18 NKJV
When the king of Israel needed a strategy for defeating the Syrians he turned to the prophet Elisha, who told him: ‘Take a bow and some arrows.’ ‘So he took himself a bow and some arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. And he said, “Open the east window,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.” Then he said, “Take the arrows,” so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” so he struck three times, and stopped. And the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times.”’ (2 Kings 15–19 NKJV)
What are you asking God to do? To save someone you love? To provide finances? To help you break a habit? To succeed in your career? Find out what He has promised you in His Word, and use those promises like arrows. Aim them at your problem, shoot, and keep shooting until God moves on your behalf. If this story teaches you anything, it’s this: there are situations in life when faith and persistence not only determine your victory, but also the extent to which you win. So aim, shoot, and keep shooting!
SoulFood: Luke 6:27–36, Exo 23:1–9, Rom 12:14–21
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©