Godly Tenacity will be Blessed by the Lord - II Kings 1-3 and Luke 24:1-35
There are several examples of people who were tenacious in a positive way in our reading today. Of course, some people are tenacious about sin. Both Ahaziah and Jehoram persisted in the sins of Jeroboam. They held on to sin in spite of God's efforts to turn them back to him. That is a negative tenacity. We see it all of the time. People do not want to change. They get comfortable in their sin and sensual pleasure, so they hold on to it firmly. However, there is a godly tenacity that He blesses. The captain of the fifty men who went after Elijah the third time was tenacious about mercy and about their lives being spared. God granted them their lives because of that tenacious appeal. Then, Elisha received a double portion of the spirit of Elijah because he would not leave Elijah. He was steadfast in his insistence that he would not leave him. God blessed his persistence and perseverance. That is how God works. Even Jehoshaphat was blessed by God for remaining faithful to Him for so many years. God respected his faithfulness and spoke to the three kings because of him. Think back on your life. How many times did you miss God's blessing because you gave up too soon? You did not hold on to His promise. You did not wait on the Lord until the blessing came, so you missed it. That is a sad testimony, because anyone can be tenacious. It shows God our faith and our desire to have His will done. Let's not give up too soon.
In Luke 24 we read about Jesus' resurrection. It was a time of confusion as well as clear truth. The disciples did not know what to believe, but the angels were telling them exactly what had happened. Then, when Jesus met the disciples on their way home to Emmaus, he explained it all to them, and they finally realized all of the truth. How did that happen? They had left for home kind of early. They had not waited around for the total story to be told. They went home with a lot of questions and not much tenacity. However, when they heard Jesus explain the Old Testament, they were captivated, and when He was about to leave them, they stopped Him from leaving. The Bible says they constrained Him to stay with them. They would not let Him go. It was after that tenacious effort that Jesus revealed Himself fully to them. What a blessing! They could have missed it, if they had let Him go. Don't let Jesus go today, until He reveals Himself to you and blesses you. Whatever He says to you, hold on to it with all of your heart. Then, watch to see what He will do.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Kings 4-6 and Luke 24:36-53.
In Luke 24 we read about Jesus' resurrection. It was a time of confusion as well as clear truth. The disciples did not know what to believe, but the angels were telling them exactly what had happened. Then, when Jesus met the disciples on their way home to Emmaus, he explained it all to them, and they finally realized all of the truth. How did that happen? They had left for home kind of early. They had not waited around for the total story to be told. They went home with a lot of questions and not much tenacity. However, when they heard Jesus explain the Old Testament, they were captivated, and when He was about to leave them, they stopped Him from leaving. The Bible says they constrained Him to stay with them. They would not let Him go. It was after that tenacious effort that Jesus revealed Himself fully to them. What a blessing! They could have missed it, if they had let Him go. Don't let Jesus go today, until He reveals Himself to you and blesses you. Whatever He says to you, hold on to it with all of your heart. Then, watch to see what He will do.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Kings 4-6 and Luke 24:36-53.