Hard thing!
2 King 2:10” And he said, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so."
Hey friend, Great things don’t come easy, we’ve got to strive hard to attain them! Are you hearing please? I’m not talking about living in debts, I’m not talking about living in sin, I’m not talking about living mediocre Christian life without power, I’m not talking about living in a strife- filled home filled with war, I’m not talking about accepting sickness and failure; but I’m today talking about COMING OUT OF THEM! Hurray! It is possible through Jesus Christ who will empower you! (Philippians 4:13)
Elisha began his ministry as Prophet Elijah’s student and personal attendant but he kept working hard; he was humble, honest, faithful and committed. He was referred as “Elisha the son of Shaphat, one who poured water on the hands of Elijah."(2 King 3:11) Friend, you would be remembered for your good work if you stay faithful! The HR department would preserve your records, your supervisor would remember your good works, your commitment and dedication would be recognized; if not now, I repeat if not now, you would surely reap blessings soon. I say this because, at times, you may not see rewards for your work immediately, but if you stay committed to God and your work, mark my words – blessings would come! I remember a day, when I went wandering on the road looking out for books that would teach me how to succeed. That was a time in my career when I was going through severe humiliation, rejection and loneliness, I just cannot explain my pain in words – it was enormous! However, after salvation, I continued in the same department for another five years without much improvement in my career but my spiritual life was zooming high. God’s purpose in my life was different! Stay sincere and patient!
Elisha humbly served Prophet Elijah but did not desire to remain so; are you listening? He kept learning, serving and growing. Elijah tested his faith when he said “Elisha, please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to Jericho." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you!” You got to pursue your goal fiercely! Are you listening? Elijah was immensely impressed and he knew his time of departure was also nearing, hence he asked Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you." And Elisha said, "Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me." Wow! Dare to ask! Now, you don’t get ‘such’ precious stuff for nothing! God does not pour down His anointing on someone who sleeps till 8 am. This comes prophetically to someone out there! God cannot throw his mantle on someone who bickers all the time and behaves brashly. Elijah said: ‘If you see me go, you would get that anointing!’ In other words, Elijah said, ‘stay focused till the end!’ Hard things come the hard way! Elisha sticks close to Elijah until finally he saw Elijah being taken! Glory to Jesus! With faith Elisha picks up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Elisha now gets ready to do what his master did earlier, he took the cloak of Elijah and struck the water, when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. Move forward! Pursue! Achieve!
Practice! Word hard! Run! Focus! Aim! Scale greater heights! Win! Move on from self-pity to learning the nitty-gritty details to win: the problem solving part, of cleaning priming and reviving! Listen! After all we are children of the Master who defied the grave and resurrected – we need to rub shoulders with Him to get that spirit! Are you listening? He was a winner! Before you look for resurrection in your marriage, character, job and life – take a good look at yourself and aim for revitalization! You don’t get such stuff sitting at home and whiling away precious time. Pull your socks up for some renovation work! Walk in newness of life! Glory to Jesus! I’m sick of watching people still walking in late to church, ignoring the Word and personal relationship with God! Watch Jesus and ape His life style of power, hard work and commitment.
After repeated failures last year, when she even contemplated quitting the game at that stage, Saina Nehwal decided to take some crucial decisions; most important was her move to Bangalore to stay close to her coach Vimal Kumar and get trained. She took instructions, corrections, directions and started to amend the previous wrongs and moved on to the path of glorious resurrection! Finally she got the World No.1 ranking! ( April 2, 2015) Hurray!
When I was facing tremendous pressure in our ministry, my daughter looked at me and said, “mom, why are you not satisfied with just running the church, why have you stretched out into so many projects such as the School, Day care home, Writing and so on? I replied: “pressures and problems would not deter me from asking God for more!” Come on, be feisty, gutsy, dig in hard, and don’t give up! Complete the degree course that is half way through, finish, I say finish!
Pastor Rick Warren said, ”You need to be able to say, “God, I’m willing to do whatever you want me to do. Even if it seems scary or unusual or hard, I’m going to do it, and I’m going to keep at it until I bear fruit.””
