‘Strike the ground and don’t stop!’ This was the will of the Lord for the king of Israel as he was being attacked by his enemies. Rather than letting it make him weak and apathetic, he was to strengthen his hands and press in all the more for the victory. He was to take the ground by faith and not by sight.
It says that King Joash came to see Elisha before his death. Rather than seeing just a death of a man, Joash saw by faith the legacy of Elijah through him. He would be taken up in a whirlwind just like his spiritual father.
Elisha, in his last days, did not mourn for himself or feel sorry for himself. Like Joash, he saw the potential in the moment through eyes of faith not through eyes of discouragement or disappointment. Because of this, Elisha was able to help King Joash get the victory in one of his greatest battles.
In 2 Kings 13:15-19 it says,
“And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.”
And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”
What do you see? When you are hit with difficulty after difficulty, what is in your line of vision? Do you become discouraged and give up or do you ask God for a vision of what He is doing? There is potential in our moments of greatest battle. There is possibility if we will see with eyes of faith rather than look at the situation in the flesh.
When we fight to take the territory by faith, the battle actually brings peace. There is going to be a temptation to turn back and retreat before obtaining the victory. Or, in fighting the battle, to only step in half heartedly not wanting to experience any pain or sacrifice. We need to remember that Jesus already made the ultimate sacrifice and one the ultimate victory.
In this case, King Joash had rose to the occasion but not fully. He saw the initial possibility but then he was timid when it came to potential difficulty. He shot the arrow in faith but then stopped after three times.
Does difficulty cause you to stop? Does it cause you to doubt yourself, God and others? Do you stay strong and give it your all? The more that you are hit, do you become stronger and strengthened in your faith or does it discourage you and hold you back from your full potential?
The question from this is what is our faith really in? What do we value? If our faith is genuinely in God and not our circumstances, we can continue to see with eyes of faith and press in. Like Joshua and Caleb, when you we upon the difficulty before us, all we see is promises and goodness.
I can’t say that I am totally in that place. I can become discouraged and apathetic at times in the midst of difficulty. I question what is wrong with me, what I did wrong or why others are not struggling with the same difficulty. This reflects that my strength is coming partially from my confidence in myself and what I see around me.
I also think that some of it is a valuing of having comfortable circumstances. I love when things go my way. When it seems that everything is going against me, it is hard to believe that God has me in a great fortunate place and look to the victory. I start feeling uncomfortable with myself and the situation.
Paul says in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Paul goes on to say in Philippians 4:12-13, “know both how to face humble circumstances and how to have abundance. Everywhere and in all things I have learned the secret, both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things because of Christ who strengthens me.”
In the midst of difficulty, we are to forget what has happened in the past, keep pressing forward and take the land. As we shoot our arrows into the night, He will give the victory –success to the work of our hands. His deeds will be seen by those who wait upon Him; Those who see potential and not stuck seeing it all as grim.
He is our God from age to age — our children will know his glorious power. For in His love and mercy, He is bringing forth His good plans in this hour. As for me, I will look to the Lord; I will trust and raise up my sword. I keep watch and sing of His strength, because He is the only One who gives us the victory at length. While at times, I feel like darkness may swallow me up, I know my Father’s help will come and lift me up [into victory].
“We strike the ground with intercession” sings in the background.
When difficulties come, see the potential rather than only see what is in front of you. Keep striking the ground and don’t listen to the voice that tells you it is too big, too hard, or hopeless. The Lord is enough and will give us the victory if we keep striking with all our heart. It says that it is our faith that pleases Him. Let’s look to give Him our best in believing.
“Am I not the One who will deliver you from your enemies?… I am with you” sings in the background.
David cries out in Psalm 62:7-9 (ALTER), “Only in God be quiet, my being, for from Him is my hope. Only He is my rock and my rescue, my fortress—I shall not stumble. From God is my rescue and glory, my strength’s rock and my shelter in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people. Pour out your hearts before Him. God is our shelter.”
“I am with you in the fire. Do not fear” sings in the background.
As the fire becomes hotter, we can know that He is right with us there. When we are in the fire, it is hot. We can see it burn up all around us and, without eyes of faith, it can look like it is going to completely take us out. We can give in to fear and worry about the flames overtaking us –disastercising the situation even more. This sucks our energy and creates discouragement and helplessness.
But we can also choose to see the potential all around. We are never without help or hope. Others will be amazed at the power of God as they see that we burn for the Lord but are not destroyed. Just like Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego, we can know that if the fire get’s even hotter because we refuse to fear, it only causes the enemy to burn up all the quicker and gives a greater witness.
In Psalm 62:11-12, David proclaims that God spoke one thing but he had heard two—That God gives us the strength we need to overcome in difficulty but also that His is the way of kindness. The Lord does not put us through difficulty to make us miserable. What He promises us in it is that we will be strengthened and we can count on His kindness to us.
Do we see all our difficulties as opportunities for the Lord’s kindness? Do we fear what might happen or hope in what could result because we know the goodness and kindness of our Lord?
Even Jonah, when disobeying the Lord and not going to call the people of Nineveh to repent, did not necessarily hide from God solely out of fear of their negative reaction. Rather, he said he ran and hid out of knowing the kindness and goodness of the Lord to forgive and overlook their sin when they repented.
Do we expect goodness and kindness to chase us down and overtake us? David learned trust in those places of difficulty. As he was hunted down, he learned to walk by both faith and the Spirit. Without this time in his life of difficulty, he never would have learned how to walk greater by the Spirit. He had to count on God with his life to get him through the difficulty and keep him hidden.
Ironically, Saul, the one who had all the power in the kingdom of the world and used it to hunt David down, died in battle and David was lifted into his position as king. It was clear that it was the hand of the Lord and not man that sustained one and turned His hand against the other.
“God, I look to You and will not be overwhelmed” sings in the background.
He is where our help comes from. He is more than able to sustain us. Ultimately His hand will determine how situations turn. We can fear disaster and see only flames or we can trust in the goodness of the Lord and surrender to His kindness. God is calling us to see with eyes of faith (looking at the potential while knowing the kindness of the Lord) rather than seeing with fear and hopelessness.
David Wilkerson notes that it is good for us and blesses us to be afflicted at times as it strengthens our faith. He writes, “God’s Word loudly declares that the path to faith is through floods and fires: ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned” (Isaiah 43:2).” He notes that only those who go through the raging rivers get His hand of comfort. [1]
He also notes that it is important to rest in His faithfulness rather than worry. He writes, “Our heavenly Father will see to it that we are supplied with all the essential things of life.” He asks why we would accuse Him as if He were not true to His word? And writes, “You have a heavenly Father. He is faithful–trust Him!” [2]
Psalm 50:23 says, “The life that pleases me is a life lived in the gratitude of grace [for His undeserved kindness]… This is the sacrifice I desire from you.”
When difficulties come, don’t quit. Don’t let failure define you. Keep getting back up. Michael Jorden once said that the secret to his success was his failures. For every one win, he failed and was knocked down multiple times. What was different about him from others was his refusal to let his failures define him. He just kept getting back up. He would not quit.
As David Wilkerson notes, God is a rewarder of those who DILIGENTLY seek Him [3] When we are half-hearted in seeking and quick to run, hide, quit or pull back from difficulty, this does not please Him. We cannot expect a full-hearted response to our half-hearted actions.
Hebrews 10:38-39 says, “But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls [take full possession and have abundant gain].”
Keep pressing forward and taking the ground. Keep seeking Him and trusting. Don’t listen to the voices that say that you are a failure or that others think you are a disaster. Instead, expect His kindness and that He will not put you to shame.
His love prevails in every situation. Instead of letting your heart be filled with doubt, mistrust, or even offense or bitterness, remind your heart of His goodness and kindness. Celebrate His love for you and remind yourself of all He has done in the past. I keep “stones of remembrance” [notes with ways He has helped me in the past] that remind me of His goodness and kindness in the past.
He doesn’t offer us a path that is easy but He does offer us a path that is good and ultimately has significance and value. David Wilkerson writes about crabs that are thrown against a rock in the ocean. As they are thrown over and over against rocks, they become stronger and their shell hardens. He notes that there are also the hermit crabs that grab an old shell, hide in it and avoid the waves of difficulty. While they seem to have it easier, they are weak and feeble. [4]
In the midst of trials and turmoil, instead of hiding from difficulty and running from it in fear and despair, believe Him to bring you into His promised rest. He wants to bring you into unshakable faith. Psalm 25:13 says that our lives will rest in bounty when we fear the Lord. Ultimately, to be like Jesus, is to be able to sleep in the boat in the midst of the storm rather than begging for it to be calmed.
In Revelation 4:6, John has a vision of the sea of glass that the throne of God rests upon. Upon it, hovered the Holy Spirit as seven burning flames. Place your soul and spirit under His rule and reign. It will not be frozen hard (Job 38:30), raging and overpowering (Psalm 18:16) or in turmoil (Job 41:31), but the Spirit of God will be hovering to still your soul. Let His burning flames warm your heart, keeping it from hardness, as He brings you into the place of greater clarity and stillness of soul.
“And I was made to be with You and I don’t truly rest until I am with You” sings.
Know God is with you in the storm. Expect to enter into His rest. Let His throne reside over your heart and soul. Expect goodness and kindness, not disaster. Let the sea that rages in worry, fear of disaster, offense and bitterness come to a place of surrender and trust.
“I’m coming to rule, I’m coming to reign” sings in the background.
The Holy Spirit abides in the heart of every believer. Face each day knowing He is in His temple [your heart] to comfort you, guide you, encourage you, anoint you, and reveal the glory of Jesus in you. When the whirlwind surrounds you, He will take you up into His loving embrace. You will not be left behind.
Lord, You have always been good to us. Over and over, You have provided for us. Let us walk in the fullness of trusting in Your goodness. Let us not be those who fear, hide under a rock, become apathetic or discouraged. Rather, let us be those with eyes of faith, seeing the potential and excited for what is to come. When we offend and miss the mark, lead us in your lovingkindness on the paths of truth for the sake of your goodness (Ps. 25:8-9). And when the enemy would try to overtake us, let us keep striking the ground until we see the full victory.
1-4. Wilkerson, David. God is Faithful. Chosen Books, Bloomington, MN. World Challenge, Inc. 2012
