Being Excited About GOD

2 Kings 10: ³⁰ The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”

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I can’t point to any “cause and affect” to my success. In fact I really don’t see how I made it to where I made it. All I know is I remember a simple prayer… “LORD please make me successful.”  I didn’t know what “levels” meant to a company or what “corporate politics” meant to a career. I had no specific target or path to get there.

All I knew was... I had to change the mode in which I was operating and mature.

• When I was immature, I would instantly lie to cover myself.
• When I was immature, I would not take responsibility for my actions.
• When I was immature, I would not stand firm for what is right rather I would bend towards the crowd.

GOD wants me to “grow up.” Instead of blaming HIM for the ills of society or for the current situation, GOD wants me to admit I need HIM, ask for forgiveness and join HIM in HIS quest to bring people back to HIM. This WILL be against what the population believes.

• GOD wants me to follow HIM as much as I can.
• GOD wants me to trust HIM as much as I can.
• GOD wants me to believe in HIM as much as I can.

Note I said “as much as I can” because HE truly wants me to love HIM with ALL my heart, but my heart and every humans’ heart is poisoned with sin at birth, so this takes effort. GOD knows that my righteousness is sometimes pure and sometimes tainted with trying to get my sinful way. BUT GOD’s grace is sufficient and HIS SON’s death and resurrection is complete. This makes me excited!

• Are you filled with fear?
• Do you blame others for your woes?
• Can you begin by taking responsibility for your actions?
• Will you ask GOD to fill you up with HIS might today?

GOD provides miraculous appointments

2 Kings 9: ² When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room. ³ Then take the flask and pour the oil on his head and declare, ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run; don’t delay!”

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³⁰ Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard about it, she put on eye makeup, arranged her hair and looked out of a window. ³¹ As Jehu entered the gate, she asked, “Have you come in peace, you Zimri, you murderer of your master?”

³² He looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him.³³ “Throw her down!” Jehu said. So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot.

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Another shake up at work left only a few people with enough knowledge to do the job. I was one of the candidates but my opponent was favored and they chose him. I was miserable and pouted for a while, but soon had to get over it. After a while, I got used to my position and fell in line like everyone else.

One day an abrupt announcement came through. The person had to leave the company suddenly and they asked me if I wanted the position.

• Sometimes I pout when I don’t get my way.
• Sometimes I think the situation is not in control because I am not in control of the situation.
• Sometimes I brood over another choice because I didn’t get my way.

Jezebel was feared by one of the most powerful prophets who existed, namely Elijah. BUT GOD appointed someone new to take the reins. HE has done this in my life time and time again. When I was passed over for promotion after promotion, GOD saw to it that I was taken care of in spite of the politics.

• GOD raises me up at the right time, not my time.
• GOD raises me up when HE knows I am ready, not when I think I am.
• GOD raises me up for HIS purposes so I need not be afraid.

Jehu was not afraid of Jezebel because he had purpose in his life. He knew GOD was with him and he completed his task just like GOD told him. Living a life of purpose enables me to see GOD’s miraculous appointments.

• Have you been passed over?
• Do you think someone is in the way of your success?
• Can you see that GOD can and will raise you up at HIS appointed time?
• Will you accept GOD’s training to make you stronger?

GOD keeps HIS promises

2 Kings 8: ¹⁶ In the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah. ¹⁷ He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. 

¹⁸ He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. ¹⁹ Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever.

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“I’m done with church” I said to myself. Seeing the hypocrisy was too much. “Now what do I do?” was the decision I had to make. My first night on campus, there were parties, drunkenness and nudity!  “I know… I’ll try that” I thought to myself excitedly.

• Many times I have tried to leave GOD when I wanted my way.
• Many times I blamed the church for not being perfect.
• Many times I thought could make it on my own without consulting GOD.

Leaving church and stopping my efforts of following GOD seemed like a good idea at the time. I mean, the people in the church were acting like the people they called “worldly” only they were sneakier about it. I figured this would give me the license to leave them alone and do as I pleased. BUT GOD had something different in mind for me.

• GOD saw me in the middle of my sins and decided to rescue me.
• GOD saw me committing evil in HIS eyes yet HE held to HIS promise of mercy for me.
• GOD saw me doing the opposite of what HE wanted and went to HIS death in my place.

GOD cannot back out of a decree. Once HE says something it HAS to happen. HE said the wages of sin is death, so someone had to die. HE decided it would be HIM instead of me. HE also said “No one can pluck you out of MY hands”, so HE allows me to sin BUT rewards me the more I follow HIM.

HE allows consequence to happen in my life and chastens me. BUT he has saved me from eternal separation from HIM.

• Are you in the middle of sin?
• Have you stopped following GOD?
• Do you realize HIS grace is sufficient?
• Can you stop thinking you have to be clean in order to have a relationship with GOD?
• Do you realize that no matter how deep in sin you have fallen GOD forgives you?

Getting Undeserved Blessings

2 Kings 7: ³ Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die? ⁴ If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.”

⁵ At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there, ⁶ for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!” ⁷ So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.

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 ¹⁶ Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of the finest flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, as the Lord had said.

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“We are going to move out west and you are coming with us” were the words of relief as the wave of downsizing had just finished. While I felt underprepared for the position, I was at the right place at the right time.  I had no control over the decisions that had been made to cut people.

·         GOD is there when situations seem out of control.

·         GOD is there when I can’t “fix” what’s going on with my power.

·         GOD is there when I want to give up.

Looking back I see many times in which GOD has blessed me where I didn’t deserve the blessing. I mean I dream up what my path should be, plan and work my fingers to the bone without results, then GOD shows me another path loaded with blessings that HE developed.

·         Sometimes I forget that GOD is “for me” not against me.

·         Sometimes I forget that GOD wants to see me be successful in spite of who I am.

·         Sometimes I forget that GOD is the one who tears people down and raises people up so it’s HIS choice to place me where HE needs me.

GOD is truly amazing. If I just accept HIS plan, there will never be a dull moment.

·         Are you facing a very large and difficult situation?

·         Do you feel like giving up?

·         Can you “stand still and watch the deliverance of the LORD?”

·         Will you add a small measure of faith and trust to your belief today?

Being Protected

2 Kings 6: ¹³ “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” ¹⁴ Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.

¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

¹⁶ “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

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I actually should be DEAD. After hitting a puddle on the interstate the car spun around and hit absolutely nothing. After stepping on some ice I slid under a bus that was about to move, but didn’t.

Many other scary events of guns pointed at me, walking through unsavory neighborhoods, and visiting other countries with very poor conditions come to mind when recalling brushes with death.

• GOD protects me in times I am not aware of.
• GOD protects me from dangers I could not even fathom.
• GOD protects me during troubled and worrisome times.

May times I have wondered, “GOD where are you?” not considering how many times HE has rescued me in the past. GOD is around me always, it’s just sometimes my eyes are blinded by what the world would want me to see. Pots of gold, fame and Utopian societies blind me to the point where I look at my life and feel inadequate. BUT GOD says different.

• GOD opens my eyes to HIS power each day.
• GOD says “I AM” meaning there is no need to seek anything else.
• GOD says “Come to me and I will give you rest”

Seeking GOD first opens my eyes to the dangers and snares of the world. I can then realize the power of GOD surrounds me.

• Are you feeling powerless?
• Do you feel weak compared to your circumstance?
• Can you ask GOD to open your eyes to see the spiritual army HE has sent to protect you?
• Can you thank GOD for HIS protection today?

Expectations of GOD

2 Kings 5: ¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”

¹¹ But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. ¹² Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.

¹³ Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” ¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

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“Take notes” the department head told me as we were headed on a break. The nerve!  I mean, I was a “manager” at that time. Maybe they didn’t know I had two people reporting to me. Besides, this person wasn’t even my boss!

I noticed a couple of my peers acting a little jealous of me getting chosen to “take notes” in a meeting. I told another person what was asked of me and they said “Take this as an opportunity to sit at the decision making table.” I went back in, took notes and this act started a journey to a highly successful career.

• Sometimes pride makes me blind to what GOD is doing.
• Sometimes pride makes me think certain things have to happen certain ways in order for me to be successful.
• Sometimes pride makes me set false expectations of GOD and I think HE will do certain things a certain way.

Disappointment in GOD is easily found in my expectations of HIM. Looking back, HE has had compassion on my enemies rather than taking them out and smiting them. HE has allowed people who serve HIM to have problems in their lives even though I prayed for them. HE even let arrogant, reckless people seem to get their way while I struggled to serve HIM on a daily basis. BUT GOD says hold on.

• GOD says to me “In order to be great humble yourself.”
• GOD says to me “My ways are not your ways.”
• GOD says to me “The first will be last and the last will be first.”

Maturity has taught me that I should never say “If I were GOD…” mainly because if I were HIM, things would be quite messed up. I should have faith in HIS unmatched power, trust in HIS awesome wisdom and respect for HIS mysterious yet extremely effective plans.

GOD knows what HE is doing, even when I think things are going haywire!

• Do you have an expectation of GOD?
• Are you expecting HIM to deliver you in a certain way at a certain time?
• Can you praise HIM for what HE “is” doing rather than complaining about what HE isn’t?
• Won’t you follow GOD’s strange plan for you and allow HIM to shape your road?

GOD is concerned about the day to day

2 Kings 4: The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

² Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”

³ Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. ⁴ Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

⁵ She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. ⁶ When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

⁷ She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

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“GOD” or “JESUS” was the canned answer I blurted out in Sunday school. I mean it had to be the answer to the mundane questions that were asked, like: “Who loves you” or “Who can take care of everything” or the most asked “Who died for you?”

After hearing this over and over, my ears glazed over and I put GOD in a box. “HE is only concerned with heaven, but not concerned with my life here on earth” I thought.

• GOD is concerned about the smallest detail of my life.
• GOD knows the number of the hairs on my head and HE is concerned about each detail of my life.
• GOD made me beautifully and wonderfully through HIS power and was pleased when HE did it.

JESUS is busy building an eternal place for me that has no curse, no pain and no misery. This doesn’t mean HE is absent in my life here on earth. HE sent the HOLY SPIRIT to live in me and comfort me each and every day.

HE is concerned about my concerns and doesn’t judge me as much as I think but still chastens me for things I shouldn’t be doing. HE keeps me on HIS path and guides me to great and marvelous places. GOD can perform miracles and does so when I trust HIM.

• Are you in a bind?
• Does the future look bleak?
• Can you believe GOD has the situation under control?
• Won’t you stop fretting over the situation and let GOD handle it the way HE wants to?