Thursday, July 28, 2016
There is a very interesting and enlightening story in 2 Kings, Chapter 3. The major subjects in the chapter are Joram, the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, and Elisha the prophet. The part of the story I want to focus on is when these two kings, along with the king of Edom, came to Elisha hoping that through him the Lord would provide water because their supply was depleted and they could not confront the Moabites in battle without it. When these three kings arrived at Elisha’s house, the prophet did not want to prophecy because he had no regard whatsoever for the idol worshipping king of Israel. He relented nonetheless because of his respect for the righteous king Jehoshaphat. Before he could prophecy in the name of the Lord, however, he called for a harpist. As the music played, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he prophesied what these kings needed to hear.
As I mentioned, there are so many lessons and eternal truths in this chapter but this is the part of the story that I can best identify with. Like Elisha, I can’t always be in the “spirit” or frame of mind, if you will, to preach, teach, or write. I confess that sometimes when I miss a day or two of writing a blog, it is because I simply “don’t have it.” Perhaps we can call it a “senior moment”, “brain freeze”, “mental lapse” or something else; the bottom line is that sometimes I’m just “out of it.” It stands to reason why the bible tells us to “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16) and in Ephesians 5:18 to “be filled with the Spirit.”
We must keep in mind that that Elisha, as well as all other servants of the Lord after him, are no different than anybody else. Maybe Elisha let things happening in his day disturb him so much, he too was in the flesh and not in the Spirit. Is it not true that sometimes we let the things we see all around us on a daily basis get to us? Perhaps this is what Jesus was addressing in part in His parable of the sSower when He said: “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.” (Mt. 13:22) In Elisha’s case, the soothing harp music, most likely praises to God, helped him get back in the Spirit. In our case, it may be music, prayer, bible reading, worshipping God in church, or something else, but whatever it is, we need to avail ourselves with as much of it as possible. I trust we will keep that in mind.
Memory verse for the week: (2 Timothy 2:24) “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.”
