2 Kings – Chapter 3

And he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I will make this dry streambed full of pools.’ ¹⁷For thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not see wind or rain, but that streambed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your livestock, and your animals.’ 2 Kings 3:16 – It’s important when reading scripture to check out other translations, and especially the original text the language was written in, for sometimes the words can be translated differently. For example, verse 16 could be translated as the Lord telling them to make the valley full of ditches within the streambed so the water can gather in them. Either way its translated God is still bringing a wonderful miracle of water to these thirsty armies, but what’s discovered in the other versions of how this text can be understood is the role that was to be played by the armies. Yes, God would make the dry streambed full of pools of water, but the people would need to do the work of preparing the ground for the pools. Isn’t that that case with much of the work that God is calling us to? God will come and bring the miracle things He can only bring, but He is calling us to do our part of “digging the ditches.” God can bring the help, we must bring the faith. God can bring the direction, we must bring the eyes that are seeking His guidance. God can change hardened hearts, we must though be willing to share the Gospel like He commanded us to. While certainly God can do all his work without us, He has invited us into it. He is seeking for us to do our part so He can do His part. What “ditch” then has God called you to dig but you’ve continued to put it off? Maybe the reason you aren’t seeing the blessing of the pool of water yet in your life is because you haven’t been faithful yet to dig the ditch. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3069

This is a light thing in the sight of the Lord. He will also give the Moabites into your hand. 2 Kings 3:18 – This story in chapter three reminds me so much of the story of when Jesus calms the storm. In both cases there is a risk of death for God’s people, yet also in both cases you see a lack of faith from them as well. They become overwhelmed with grief and worry, thinking they’re going to die. Then God steps in a reassures them that what they are worrying about isn’t a problem to Him. In fact as this verse states, “this is a light thing in the sight of the Lord.” We have to remember that the things we worry about the most are things that God is not worrying at all about. Not because He doesn’t care about you and your situation, but because He knows His power and knows dealing with that worry of yours is something simple for Him. This is why we’re called to walk by faith. Know that God is able to handle what you’re worrying about. You just need to trust Him and continue your devotion to Him even in the middle of the worry-filled situation. Your worry is a light thing to our great God. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac

And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?” Then one of the king of Israel’s servants answered, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.” And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. 2 Kings 3:11-12 – Let your presence be known and let it be known who you stand for. Even within the group that weren’t following God, they knew who Elisha was and who he believed in. Is that how it is within the groups you’re around. Like on the team you’re apart of do they know you follow Jesus? How about at work or in your neighborhood? Those we are around shouldn’t struggle to figure out who we follow. If you feel like most people aren’t aware you follow Jesus, why do you think that is? What’s something you could have been doing to help them know but haven’t? Never be ashamed of Jesus. While those you’re around may say they don’t need Jesus, they do, and you need to be sure they know you’re here to help them meet Him when they realize their need for Him. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1026

He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and mother, for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless, he clung to the sin of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from it. 2 Kings 3:2-3 – Awhile back I wrote this note next to this passage…”Repentance is not just stopping the sins you lose with, but also stopping the sins you think you gain by doing.” Here Jeroram, the king of Israel spoken of here, does set aside some of the sinful things his parents did, but chose to still cling to other sinful things. We too can be faithful in setting aside certain sinful things. Maybe they are obviously not helpful to us and it even makes sense to have those sort of things out of our story. Yet, some sinful things can seem to benefit us and those are harder to let go of. Mindsets we think are protecting us, bitterness towards someone because we think it’s making us feel better, and lust because it’s offering physical pleasure are just a few examples of sins we can keep around because we believe we’re gaining someone by clinging to them still. Yet, we’re gaining nothing. Holding onto any sin will only lead us further from the level of intimacy with the Father we could be having and further from where we need to be in life. Turn then away from all sin, even the sin you believe is helping you, or at least isn’t hurting you. Your best life is a life free from sin and clinging to Jesus instead. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2209