July 16, 2008
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Where Are Your Promises?
In 2Kings 3 an evil Israelite king, Ahab, and a good king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, ask the great prophet Elisha if they will have success against their enemies the Moabites. Among other encouraging prophecies, Elisha tells them, “You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town.” The next morning some of Elisha’s prophecies are fulfilled, so the two kings are encouraged and go out into battle against Moab. Indeed, they began destroying town after town and pressing forward in victory. But, in a last ditch effort, the king of Moab sacrifices his son on the wall of one of the remaining Moabite cities. The NIV concludes with, “The fury against Israel was great; they withdrew and returned to their own land” (2Kings 3:27).
What happened??? Elisha’s prophecies weren’t completely fulfilled! What happened to the Lord’s promises??? I’m not sure what the exact answer is, but what I feel is that God saw the horrible act of the king of Moab and then remembered the horrible acts of Ahab the king of Israel. Because Ahab was not fully for the Lord, the Lord would not receive full glory for the victory. God could not allow the complete victory until Ahab’s heart would be completely for him.
In short, if we are all for God then we will receive all His promises. But if we are not all for God, then we are unable to receive every promise that He has for us. There are still parts of us that aren’t sold to His Word. There are still parts of us that would rather trust in ourselves or in the world rather than surrender to Him.
An older friend of mine recently visited his old university and went for a prayer walk. He is preparing to move to a country that is in dire need of the Gospel. This country has been on his heart for many many years, but its only now that the Lord has begun opening doors for him to move there. As my friend was praying he heard the Lord speak to him. The Lord told him, “Son, if you had been more faithful in your quiet times and in your relationship with me, you would be so much farther ahead right now in my calling for you.” As he heard the Lord tell him this, he wasn’t discouraged but was rather encouraged. He understood the Lord could not use him fully until he was fully surrendered to the Lord. And he was thankful that the Lord has been patient with him, not taking away any of the promises but preserving them until he was ready. He wishes he had been more faithful before, but at least he still has the calling.
It could have taken the Israelites two weeks to go from Egypt to the promised land. But they were unfaithful time and time again and it ended up taking 40 years. If we want the Lord’s promises fulfilled in our lives, we have to surrender all to Him. The Lord wants to bless us mightily, but He also requires the glory. He is God! Daily surrender… daily taking up the Cross… daily revering our King. God is good.
