If I Be!

Day 105

Reading: 2 Kings 1:1 - 2 Kings 3:27

Congratulations as we begin the second book of Kings. As we continue this chronological read through the bible I encourage you not to give up. Reading the Bible is the best thing you can do for your life. Don't forget that studying, meditating and obeying the Word are the keys to success Joshua 1:9. To walk the journey of life without a roadmap is to plan to fail. God gives us His Word as a manual to follow to arrive at the place He has ordained for us. Your success is hidden in the Word of God. Finding His Word and heeding it will open doors of success.

Elijah fled the place of assignment at the threats of Jezebel. After the encounter with God in the cave, he returns to Israel with an assignment. He was to anoint his successor Elisha, to anoint Jehu as king over Israel and Hazael as king over Syria. He met Elisha who followed him promptly leaving his life behind him to go serve the prophet 1 Kings 19. Ahaziah, Ahab's son became king at the death of Ahab. Ahaziah fell ill and sought the mind of baal and not God. God sent Elijah to the men he sent to inquire of his sickness and advised the messengers to tell the king that his consulting an idol resulted in a death sentence from heaven.

Ahaziah wasn't pleased with the message from Elijah. Definitely, he must have seen how Elijah was sent to his father and the consequences, however, he didn't seem to have learned. He sent soldiers to get Elijah. This was disastrous because these soldiers didn't seem to know that Elijah was of a different kind of breed. Twice he called fire from heaven using a phrase which was to show the soldiers that weaponry for war would not harm him for God was his defence. If anyone didn't know that fire came from heaven at his prayer they discovered that Elijah had an anointing that was unique. Elijah knew that his calling was to get people back to God. The third regiment that was sent to get Elijah was leader by a humble leader who pleaded for mercy for not only himself but also his soldiers. Elijah followed him and appeared before the king and told him that he would die because he didn't consult God instead he sought the mind of an idol. Many times we discover we are dying because we didn't run to God first. From today let God be the first person you run to. Desist running to anyone else first. 

Elisha took the mantle from Elijah having followed Elijah from Gilgal, onto Bethel, then Jericho before crossing the Jordan into the desert from where the chariots of heaven carried Elijah. There are two people in the Bible who didn't die: Enoch and Elijah. Elisha had a request before Elijah was taken away. He asked for a double portion of the anointing that rested on Elijah. I find it interesting that as they journeyed from Gilgal to Jericho the prophets knew that Elijah was going to heaven yet only Elisha followed him. What does Elisha's walk with Elijah teach us about desiring for a greater dimension of the anointing of God:

• Go the distance. Be willing to pay the price that others aren't willing to pay. 
• Don't listen to others who can see what you are seeing but are unwilling to follow through or press in to get what you are desiring. 
• Don't discuss with everyone what you need. Elisha didn't tell everyone that he would ask for a double portion. 
• Those who are watching you within your circles are waiting to see the manifestation of greater. Don't be intimidated by others. 
• Be bold in your asking for the grace to function.
• Elisha carried Elijah's anointing; whose do you carry? Moses imparted to Joshua, Isaac to Jacob, and Jacob to his sons. This is a principle in the Bible that many believers today don't understand. That to go up we must receive from a higher and we are to do greater.
• Elisha understood atmospheres. In a desert place, he asked for a musician to play that an atmosphere conducive to the prophetic may be introduced in the barren place. 

God desires that we yearn for more of Him that we walk in His power more than ever. Will you be counted as one who dares to say "If I be a servant of God" when faced with the challenges of today? We can only say that when we are given wholly to God and willing to see greater than ever because we are hungry for a display of His power and glory.

Memory Verse: 2 Kings 1:10

Decree

Declare these scriptures over your life.

And he said, “Thus says the Lord: Make this valley full of ditches.’ For thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’ And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. 2 Kings 3:16-18 (italics mine)