“And Elisha
said to him, “Take a bow and some arrows.” So he took himself a bow and some
arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he
put his hand on it, and Elisha put his on the king’s hands. And he said, “Open
the east window”; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. And
he said, “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from
Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.”
Then he said, Take the arrows, so he took the arrow. And he said to the king of
Israel, Strike the ground, so he struck three times, and stopped. And the man
of God was angry with him, and said, you should have struck five or six times;
then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will
strike Syria only three times, .”—2 kings 13:5-19
The kingdom we belong
to is not a kingdom of half measures. You will not get very far if you are not
fully persuaded or totally sold out to your cause. When the Lord commands you
to advance, you take marching orders and go all the way! When the prophet
instructed the king to strike the ground, he watched closely to see what he
would do. The king struck the ground thrice and stopped. He did not understand
that God would only go as far as he permitted Him, and would stop wherever he
stopped. God does not partner with people who turn back in battle. He doesn’t
work with the lethargic or the laidback.
What steps have you
taken with the instructions God has given you? What moves have you made with
the opportunities the Lord has presented you? Are you determined to go the
extra mile, complete the whole “nine yards” and each the apex of the field you
find yourself in?
This is important
because if you are not fully invested in what God has called you to do, you will
turn back in the middle of the battle. If you are not fully persuaded about
what you want to do, you will be dissuaded by dissuaded by dissenting voices
and opposing views.
Paul was not a half
measured Apostle. He embraced his calling with every fiber of his being. He
studied, prayed, and worked more than anyone in his field. He knew that grace
was available but he pushed the limits on his human capacity. He knew that even
though he was only human, there was so much God had graced him to do and that grace
wouldn’t have made any difference. You can’t be indifferent and expect the
grace of God to make up for your lack of enthusiasm.
Even though Paul was a
great Apostle, he was a prayer juggernaut. In fact, a huge part of his secret
was his prayer life.
“I thank my
God I speak with tongues more than you all” 1 Corinthians 14-18
When you are sold on
the cause God has called you to, trials and affliction will not deter you. You
must have better reason for doing what you do than anyone else does. You must
have a stronger resolve to succeed than the enemy has for you to fail. When the
Apostle Paul reeled out his CV, it was not laced with fancy academic
qualifications and grandiose Ivory Tower appellations. It was littered with
evidences of committed action by a committed man:
“Are they Hebrew? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they
ministers of Christ?- I speak as a fool—I am more: in labouts more abundant, in
stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the
Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten
with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day
I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of
robbers, in perils of my own country men; in perils of the Gentiles, in perils
in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among
false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, hunger and
thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.” 2 Corinthians 11:22-27
When the Lord instruct
you to advance, giants will show upo. When the Lord commands you to go forward,
opposition will arise. Paul once explained that he had great opportunity and
great adversaries at same time (1 Corinthians 16:9). You really cannot have one
without the other. Opposition goes with the turf you operate on. They will
stretch your tenacity and test your convictions. Adversity will try your
resolve. Will you turn tall or will you advance with faith in God?
The Lord says those who
put their hands to the plough and look back are not worthy of the kingdom (Luke
9:62). It’s either you are in or you are not. It’s either you go all the way or
you stay at home. When I was a student in the university, the official bus of
the Student Union Government had an inscription that got me thinking. It said,
“Every onlooker is either a coward or a traitor.” After I gave my life to the
Lord, those words stayed with me. There is no middle ground. You cannot just
stand back and watch. You cannot advance timidly. You have to go boldly. You
have. You have to show commitment. You have to go all the way. You don’t want
to be like the Ephraimites, who, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in
the day of battle (Psalm 78:9). You can’t secure victory like that.
Success begins with the
attention you pay to the basic things. Paul admonished Timothy:
“Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your
progress may be evidence to all”—1 Timothy 4:15
Are you given to
prayer? Are you given to the study of the Word? Are you committed to reaching
other people for Jesus? Are you committed to being the best at what you do? Are
you committed to fulfilling your destiny? Are you committed to raising a godly
family?
Don’t run at the first
hit of trouble. Don’t let the enemy cause your head to be bowed. Don’t allow
life to beat you. You have God within you. The grace of God is at work in you.
The one in you is greater than any opposition you will ever face. Yes, there
will be challenges. Yes, sometimes, you will feel like quitting. But remember
that in Christ, the number of your challenges can be the number of your
victories. In Christ, you do not fight for victory; you fight from victory! You
are more than conqueror through Christ. Winning is sure.
Don’t turn back. Don’t
give up. Your testimony will make news in the city. Your testimony will remind
others that God is faithful. Keep your eyes on the joys of winning and take
your mind away from your present affliction. You were born for such a time as
this. You will certainly do well.
Advance!
Blessings!
Author:
Rev.
Biodun Fatoyinbo
General
Overseer of: Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA)
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