DAILY ⓂANNA DEVOTIONAL TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2018 WILL TO CONQUER TEXT: 2 KINGS 13:14-21

DAILY ⓂANNA DEVOTIONAL

TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2018

WILL TO CONQUER

TEXT: 2 KINGS 13:14-21

Key Verse: “And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.” (2 Kings 13:19)_

King Joash had the privilege of reigning simultaneously at the time of Elisha. On his last visit to the prophet, he had the golden opportunity which would have earned Israel manifold victories over Syria but he missed it. He was instructed to smite the ground with his arrows, which he only did thrice. He was then informed that he would only defeat Syria thrice. In essence, King Joash quit the battle before he started the fight.

The world is a battlefield. Job states: “Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither does trouble spring out of the ground; yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:6,7). No one is insulated against the pangs of the world’s troubles and travails of its battles – you must fight or be overpowered. If you choose to remain passive, the enemy will move against you and take you captive. The visible troubles, problems, trails, obstacles and conflicts that fill this world are the surface results of on-going battles for the soul.

If you want to fight, you must know how. Since this war is not physical or conventional, the weapons are not the usual mechanism and devices of invincibility. As true children of God, our weapons are “mighty through God”. Elisha demonstrated this when he asked Joash to smite the ground prophetically. Winners of life’s battles are those who engage the enemy from the Lord’s side fully armed with the whole armour (Ephesians 6:10-18). Sinners in the rebel’s army cannot fight from within the satanic fold. They must crossover to Jesus, leaving their sins behind and persistently continue with Him. The devil’s weaponry is no match for the believer’s armoury, provided the believer is ever ready for battles and willing to be victorious.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The will to conquer is the first condition of victory.
COVER to COVER: 1 SAMUEL 25-27.

PONDER: A Presumptuous Warrior
1. The evil king (v11) had a rare prophetic opportunity to give a deadly blow to Israel's archenemy and oppressor, Syria.
2. He was presumptuous and careless with prophetic instructions/ revelation and his victory was partial.
3. Elisha wanted him to use only one arrow in v17, which he did. (Arrow is singular)
4. In v18, Elisha mentioned arrows in plural but did not tell him how many.
5. Why didn't the king asked Elisha how many arrows if
not for presumption?
6. He was not wise enough to follow the example of David who prepared 5 stones to fight Goliath I Sam 17:40. No wonder Elisha was angry with him.

HYMN: Christ Our Mighty Captain (GHS 100)

1 Christ, our mighty Captain, leads against the foe;
We will never falter when He bids us go;
Tho' His righteous purpose we may never know,
Yet we'll follow all the way.

Chorus:
Forward! forward! 'tis the Lord's command.
Forward! forward to the promised land;
Forward! forward! let the chorus ring;
We are sure to win with Christ our King!

2 Let our glorious banner ever be unfurled;
From its mighty stronghold evil shall be hurled;
Christ, our mighty Captain, overcomes the world,
And we follow all the way. [Chorus]

3 Fierce the battle rages, but 'twill not be long,
Then triumphant shall we join the blessed throng,
Joyfully uniting in the victor's song,
If we follow all the way. [Chorus]

PRAYER POINTS:
1. Lord, keep me from presumptuous tendencies in the battle of life.
2. Lord, give me wisdom and diligence to learn from other successful people in this journey of faith.
3. Teach me how to persevere in battle so that my victory will be total and not short lived.
4. Cloth our ministers with the mantle of Elisha so that more supernatural signs will back up their ministries.