Don't stop short!

Reading of the Day: 2 Kings 12-14

2 Kings 13:19: 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.

The unrest continues within the walls of Jerusalem (which became broken because of war between Israel & Judah), and also because of invasions from the Syrians. There were some good kings, some evil ones, but none that were able or completely willing to make an impact large enough to permanently change the course of God's people for the better. The prophet Elisha was about to die, and he had been the hope for Israel & showed them the way back to God many times before...but now, he too would be departing & the kings would have to fend for themselves until a new prophet was raised up. Joash, king of Israel at that time, wept over Elisha. Elisha told him to take arrows & smite the ground, and Joash smote 3 times. The above Scripture says that this made Elisha angry, because if he would have hit the ground more, Israel would have experienced more victories against the Syrians! How quickly does our belief run out? How soon do we get tired of making strides to get closer to God? We need to switch gears & go from "that's enough" to "He's enough"! Knowing that Jesus is enough to conquer anything we face, we must not stop short in giving our all for Him! One more hit to the ground could push back the Syrians further. One more moment on our knees in prayer could push back the darkness & let us live more peacefully in His marvelous light. One more verse could be capable of piercing our hearts & changing the course of our lives! We are not saved by works, but it is so true that more time with Jesus will keep us from the things which hold us back & make us stop short! The promise is ahead! Heaven awaits! Keep smiting! Keep fighting! God will keep working!