Three or More
Again. Again. Again.
The king had a simple instruction from the prophet. He was simply to strike the ground with arrows. The king followed the instruction and struck the ground with the arrows but stopped after three strikes. This angered the prophet and limited the king’s blessing. It is a strange story, and it has direct application to your life this week.
The passage is 2 Kings 13:14-19, the king is Jehoash, and the prophet is Elisha. King Jehoash is seeking a blessing over his military endeavors from an ailing Elisha, and when Elisha bizarrely instructs the king to strike the ground with some arrows, the king seemingly obeys and strikes the ground three times. This “obedience” angers Elisha, who replies, “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” (2 Kings 13:19).
There is a danger in extrapolating God’s Word in a specific context and applying it to a different context, but in this case, the example of God’s favor flowing in proportion to the obedience displayed is a concept woven all throughout scripture. It is a precept we would do very well to take to heart, and doing so would allow us to walk ever deeper into all that God has for us.
Consider the following two passages:
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Lk. 6:38).
“’Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it’” (Mal. 3:10).
The question for you this week is, “What is it that God has instructed you to do?” What task has He assigned you? What mission has He given you?
No matter your answer, are you persisting in it? How many times have you “struck the ground,” and at some point, did you stop? If so, why?
The enemy of your soul would like nothing more than to convince you that a little obedience is enough. He relishes the idea you would decide to tacitly comply with the great mission God has given you—to “check the box” quickly and be done with it!
But this week, ask: Are you persisting in that which God has assigned to you? Are you testing Him and expecting the floodgates of heaven to be thrown open? Or have you walked away after a few feeble (or even hearty) attempts?
If God has assigned you a task, you are meant to sustain it until He releases you from it! Your mission is to be fully consumed within His mission, and you should persist again and again and again until He directs otherwise.
My friend, the result is more blessing and power than you can possibly imagine. If you persist, there is no limit in what God can do in and through you! If it is an enemy, your God can and will completely destroy it! If it is a mission, your God can and will completely accomplish it!
But you must press in.
You must not walk away.
You must not cease, and you must not just do the bare minimum.
If you have your instructions from God, strike the proverbial ground. Then do it again. And again. And again.
Persist until the One who gave the instruction shows Himself strong. He is good for His Word, and He will not fail (Lk. 1:37: Is. 55:11).
But He does demand your sustained obedience. Persist, and see what your God will do!
The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.