Times of Transition, Day 35 Contrary to what we assume. Read 2 Kings chapter 15. As we read through the long list of kings found in second Kings chapter 15, we find so many people who did not follow God’s design and desire for their life. We see how they disobeyed and followed other gods and were ultimately assassinated or captured. Yet we do read of the kings of Judah and this King in particular who did follow God. Knowing that, it seems unusual to me to see that he also had leprosy. Often leprosy was thought of as a punishment for disobedience and yet that was not the case…

Times of Transition, Day 35 Arrogance. Read 2 Kings chapter 14. My Mom used to call it being too big for your britches. It can be easy to overestimate our abilities and come off as arrogant. The King of Judah had done just that. He had won a minor victory and started to think of himself as bigger and better than he was. He challenged the King of Israel, who tried to get him to stop, however he would not be swayed and went to battle anyway. Judah was defeated mightily. We need to understand that God is the one who gives us our strength and our arrogance can only…

Times of Transition, Day 34 Ray of light. Read 2 Kings chapter 13. So many evil kings as we read this chapter. We see the kings of Israel and that their legacy is a result of their lack of obedience toward God. Yet through this entire chapter there is a small ray of light. Even though king Jehoahaz is described as evil and not obeying commands of the Lord, there is a moment where he turns to the Lord and asks him for help and God answers him. Such a wonderful reminder that no matter our situation or circumstance, no matter what our past sins have been, if we will…

Times of Transition, Day 34 Wages for repair. Read 2 Kings chapter 12. With all of the changes in leadership and those kings who followed God and those who didn’t, it’s no wonder that the temple fell into disrepair. Even after trying to get thing repaired, nothing had been happening. So, King Joash took matters into his hands and set up a place for contributions. However, the money wasn’t to pay for supplies, it was to pay the workers. God knows and understands the wages that are due for those who do his work. While that might not always mean that is money, God will never shortchange those who are…

Times of Transition, Day 33 Hidden. Read 2 Kings chapter 11. It’s hard to imagine growing up being hidden from your family because they want to kill you, yet that is exactly the life that Joash knew. From a very small child, he was hidden away because his grandmother wanted to be Queen and killed all of the rest of the family so that she could. When we think about what we have gone through and the circumstances of our life, many of us have been through difficult things. But God brought purpose about for Joash, just as he did for us. The training and the teaching that Joash would…

Times of Transition, Day 32 A good start. Read 2 Kings chapter 10. Jehu made a good start to his time as King of Israel. He brought about the judgment on the house of Ahab that God had foretold. While he did follow the Lord to an extent, he didn’t finish his reign that way. He continued to allow a lot of idol worship throughout the land and his following of God was not wholehearted. Do we fully commit to God? We may start off strong, but it is important to continue strong and to finish strong. Our following of God is to be complete. We must continue to move…

Times of Transition, Day 31 Chain reaction. Read 2 Kings chapter 9. As we read this chapter, it really is a chain reaction of the events of these first few verses. God gives a message to Elisha and Elisha gives that message to one of the profits to deliver. This sets in motion many things that God had already prophesied were coming about, people just didn’t know when. With this one announcement, God moves forward with so many of his plans to be able to address the judgment of the people of Israel. We must continue to be obedient one step at a time. We never know which one action…

Times of Transition, Day 30 Perfect timing. Read 2 Kings chapter 8. How many times through the Bible do we read the words, “just at this time” or “even as they were speaking” or any other phrase that lets you know that God has been moving in the midst of things happening? His timing is absolutely perfect. God knows exactly when situations need to happen in order for his glory to be shown and his results to come to fruition. The king had asked to hear about Elisha’s deeds, and just as his servant was sharing about a woman whose son was brought back to life, the woman and her…

Times of Transition, Day 28 God cares about the little things. Read 2 Kings chapter 6. Our word and our obligations. God knows those and understands that we should keep our word. As a result, Elisha comes to his aid. We can trust God to care for us. He even cares for the little things. Do we trust him with everything?

Times of Transition, Day 27 Faithful through change. Read 2 Kings chapter 5. Change in transition is hard, but only when it’s change that we don’t want or didn’t expect. Here we see a young girl who went through a massive change. She was essentially kidnapped and taken to a foreign country and made to live as a servant. How does she respond? She remains faithful to God and to all that she had learned growing up. Apparently she was well treated, or at least had enough respect for the people that she worked for that she wanted them to experience the healing of God. She recommended that her master…