March 30 - II Kings 4-6
As I read this passage I was amazed at the miracles worked by Elisha. I have read them before, but it just hit me that he lived a life that was filled with miracles. This was no doubt a result of him receiving a double portion of Elijah's spirit. The purpose of God working all of these miracles through Elisha was to preserve a witness for the Lord in a very wicked time in Israel's history. As we read the Bible, we see that God is always at work, even in the truly bad times. He is constantly giving people reasons to trust Him. Elisha was God's man for Israel at this point in time. If you are a believer, you are God's person for your time. He wants to reveal Himself to you and through you to others around you. You are where you are for a purpose.
Also, in all of the revelations and miracles there is a clear message to all of us. This is how God works in the world. He does not always work miracles to the same degree that He did in Elisha's life, but God is a miracle working God. Elisha was a prophet, and part of being a prophet is hearing God, so His message can be shared. However, God works by revealing Himself to all of us. Are you expecting to hear from God, today? Do you know that God could work a miracle through you today? I believe God wants us to live each day listening for Him constantly and watching to see what He will do all of the time, knowing He could work a miracle any minute. Know that God can use you just as He used Elisha, but you must be faithful and obedient.
There are many aspects of these miracles and stories that are helpful to us. The widow is saved from her creditors by borrowing vessels which God fills with oil, but some people say God doesn't want us to ever borrow. God allows the widows son to die. Why?, just so He could raise him? That was pretty painful for the widow if that is the case. God fed one hundred people with twenty small loaves, looking forward to Jesus feeding five thousand. Naaman is healed from leprosy, but the biggest news is that he gave his heart to the Lord. Once he trusted the Lord, he did not want to have anything to do with idols. Gehazi was greedy, and God gave him and his family a curse of leprosy. Was that too harsh or is greed that bad? Then, there is another borrowed item, the axe head that floated. The Syrians surrounded Elisha and his servant, but God surrounded the Syrians. Do we realize that every day "those who are with us are more than those who are with them?" Finally, sin makes people so stupid and selfish that they will even eat their children. Don't ever be surprised at what people will do if they are led by the flesh and not by the Spirit.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Kings 7-9.
Also, in all of the revelations and miracles there is a clear message to all of us. This is how God works in the world. He does not always work miracles to the same degree that He did in Elisha's life, but God is a miracle working God. Elisha was a prophet, and part of being a prophet is hearing God, so His message can be shared. However, God works by revealing Himself to all of us. Are you expecting to hear from God, today? Do you know that God could work a miracle through you today? I believe God wants us to live each day listening for Him constantly and watching to see what He will do all of the time, knowing He could work a miracle any minute. Know that God can use you just as He used Elisha, but you must be faithful and obedient.
There are many aspects of these miracles and stories that are helpful to us. The widow is saved from her creditors by borrowing vessels which God fills with oil, but some people say God doesn't want us to ever borrow. God allows the widows son to die. Why?, just so He could raise him? That was pretty painful for the widow if that is the case. God fed one hundred people with twenty small loaves, looking forward to Jesus feeding five thousand. Naaman is healed from leprosy, but the biggest news is that he gave his heart to the Lord. Once he trusted the Lord, he did not want to have anything to do with idols. Gehazi was greedy, and God gave him and his family a curse of leprosy. Was that too harsh or is greed that bad? Then, there is another borrowed item, the axe head that floated. The Syrians surrounded Elisha and his servant, but God surrounded the Syrians. Do we realize that every day "those who are with us are more than those who are with them?" Finally, sin makes people so stupid and selfish that they will even eat their children. Don't ever be surprised at what people will do if they are led by the flesh and not by the Spirit.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Kings 7-9.