June 22: Easy things for Him to do...

2 Kings 3:1-4:17

Acts 14:8-28

Psalm 140:1-13

Proverbs 17:22

Have you ever been at the end of your rope, brimming with frustration and failure, bereft of the strength to go any further on the journey you were convinced God had planned for you? The kings of Israel, Judah and Edom found themselves in that situation when, after 7 days' march to attack Moab, they found themselves without food or water, neither for themselves nor for their animals.  It is worth noting that, while the king of Israel claims the Lord called them to this action, there is no evidence of such.  In fact, the king of Israel "did evil in the eyes of the Lord" and "clung to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat".  

You know what's amazing, though?  Through Elisha, God heard their prayer, saw their need, and provided for them.  They needed water and where they were there was neither rain nor river - and yet God provided them with pools, with a valley filled with water to drink.  And "this is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord".  And as a bonus, God threw in victory over Moab.  All this, when they were helpless, their situation hopeless.

I've found myself in this situation often, either because I've gone ahead at something without His direction, or I've convinced myself that the inoffensiveness of my actions warranted God's support.  The amazing thing is this: however dire the straits I put myself in as a result of my disconnection with God, there is nothing He cannot save me from - nothing that isn't "an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord".  And He is able to take the defeat I face and, in ways I could not possibly understand nor anticipate, turn it into victory.  I need to remember that, that my heart might remain cheerful and good medicine, that I might not suffer a crushed spirit that dries up the bones.  

When He does that, however, unlike those who proclaimed that Paul and Barnabas were Hermes and Zeus, may I recognize His work and give Him the glory.