When we follow God and speak of the amazing things we’ve seen Him do, unbelievers take notice, and God is glorified. Even in the midst of being persecuted or oppressed, like the young girl who served in Naaman’s house, we can show kindness and concern for others by telling them of the miracles we’ve seen God perform.

Naaman, like most unbelievers, may not be interested in God until they are desperate. At their point of greatest need, a compassionate word from a follower of Christ may provide the perfect healing they need. God often allows temporal suffering in our life to drive us toward Him, so that He can provide healing that will save us from an eternity of suffering.


Elisha wisely instructed Naaman to do something seemingly foolish. As Naaman ranted, he could have easily washed in a river at home if that were the cure. But Elisha’s point was not the river, but the exercise of faith. Naaman had come a long way, but Elisha asked him to take one more step of faith.

Upon being healed, Naaman was eager to reward Elisha, but the prophet refused. Elisha knew that the blessings of God are not for sale. Sadly, his servant Gehazi allowed greed to lure him away from faith, and it resulted in him becoming leprous. Our proximity to godly men and women does not protect us from our own proclivity toward sin.
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There are some practical implications to Elisha’s refusal and Gehazi’s reward. As leprosy is a contagious disease, Elisha’s refusal to see Naaman until after he was healed and his refusal to accept anything the leper may have been to prevent the spread of disease. Similarly, Gehazi’s infection may have resulted from accepting clothes and money which was likely infected, although the immediacy with which he became “white as snow” indicates a supernatural element. Parenting experts tell us the best consequences for teaching our children are those that occur naturally as a result of their behavior. Often, God allows us to learn in just this way, by experiencing the natural consequences of our own choices.

There is so much treasure to mine in this one chapter of the miracles God worked through Elisha, but I’ll just focus on the first miracle of the oil multiplying to fill many jars.

First, this miracle parallels the one from the previous chapter, where the armies were instructed to dig ditches to catch the water God would send. The amount of blessing received was determined by the effort and the faith they demonstrated. Had they not dug the ditches, the water would have rushed past them and provided no benefit to them. If they had dug more ditches, they would have had even more water for their use. In the same way, the woman’s faith in borrowing vessels from her neighbors and her efforts in pouring out the oil impacted the amount she received to meet her needs.

This principle, that our blessings or miracles are impacted by our faith and our efforts, can be distorted into the heresy of the prosperity gospel. While God delights to bless His children with good gifts (Matthew 7:11), He also knows that our spiritual growth often requires chastening (Hebrews 12:6-7), and He has told us that we will have adversity in this world (John 16:33).

But we are also told in that same verse to be of good cheer because Christ has overcome the world!
So often we hear folks (even believers!) saying that the tragedies they are suffering have no purpose. No good can come of them. There is no silver lining. Who is the god they have believed in?

There are only three possible perspectives when our circumstances come crashing in and our hearts are breaking:
1. God is not able to stop tragedy.
2. God is able, but does not care to stop tragedy.
3. God is able and cares deeply, but allows tragedy for an eternal purpose that is beyond our understanding.

I cannot imagine worshipping either of those first two gods. And I don’t believe those gods are found in the Bible. The God of the Bible knows the hairs on our head (Luke 12:7) and He sent His own Son to go through the most horrific, tragic, and unjust death for our eternal salvation. That is not a God who is impotent or uncaring.

I’m further convinced that this third God is worthy of my worship because in my most tragic moments of loss and betrayal, God has given me tiny glimpses of His eternal purpose and glory. He is glorified when I remain faithful, despite pain. He is glorified when I praise Him through tears. He is glorified when I pour out the fragrant incense of prayers in the midst of suffering. He is glorified when I trust Him even when I don’t see anything good resulting immediately. He is glorified when unbelievers see that I am able to get through anything by leaning on Him. He is glorified when I turn my pain into ministry to others.
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If you’re in the midst of that season of pain, in the haze of suffering where you’ve lost sight of the God who loves you so very desperately, I’m praying that the mist would clear enough for you to catch a glimpse of His glory.

The story of King Joram is a reprise of yesterday’s lesson on choosing sides. Joram put away the Baal of his father, no doubt somewhat concerned based on the judgment his father faced. But he didn’t choose to repent and serve God. He continued the worship to graven images. He tried to straddle a fence between paganism and worship of Yahweh.

His response in difficult times was to hide from God for fear of judgment instead of seeking God through repentance. When he was trying to avoid God, King Jehoshaphat recommended they seek Elisha, the man of God.


Sadly, we can fall into this same trap. We know the consequences of blatant sin, so we try to tone down our sin rather than putting it to death. We want to worship God, but in our own way, in the ways that feel most comfortable to us, with traditions passed down and rituals that are familiar. God hasn’t called us to reduce our sin production by 50%, as if we are reaching a performance goal that will result in His blessings. He has called us to die to ourselves, the sin that drives us, and the earth-bound perspective that blinds us to things of eternal value.

It really is all or nothing with God. If He isn’t LORD of every single area of our life, then He isn’t LORD of our life at all. While we are not immediately perfect when we ask Him to be our LORD, we must “work out our faith with fear and trembling” by allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal new areas of our life every day that need to be put under His Lordship. This isn’t to make Him love us any more, and our failures don’t make Him love us any less. He proved His love for us once and forever on the cross.

The chapter ends with the Moabite king offering his son and heir as a pagan sacrifice in full view of the troops that are besieging his city. His message is clear: He is eliminating any heir to his throne and is willing to do anything to fight to the final breath. They will have to kill every man, woman, and child in order to take the king. His gruesome and desperate display leaves his opponents stunned into silence. In the face of such evil, they simply consider the battle won and go home.

Displays of evil have a way of leaving us feeling speechless and defeated. Whether it is ISIS beheading believers or a gunman shooting into a crowd, the weight of such visible evidence of evil in our world can be crushing.
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We must remember that God will ultimately have the victory. He demonstrates that He is victorious every time one of His followers shows love and compassion and kindness. When the fruit of the Spirit overflows in our lives and spills out on the people around us, we show them that evil does not win. When we offer forgiveness to those who have done us the most wrong, we prove that love is victorious. When we give sacrificially, not for what we can gain or because someone deserves it, but because God gave to us when He had nothing to gain and when we did not deserve it, then we offer the world a picture of how weak and pathetic evil is when it is set beside God’s goodness.

This chapter includes two views of Elisha, the prophet who followed Elijah. First we see his great loyalty to his mentor, following him about, knowing that Elijah was soon to leave this world, but staying with him to the very end. We get a glimpse of his emotional attachment as he tells the prophets who feel compelled to repeatedly tell him Elijah is leaving to “be quiet” or “say no more.”

Then we see a very different side when he is confronted by a mob of youths (the word translated as young boys is the same word used for soldiers and for Isaac at age 28). Although at first glance, it appears they are just mocking him for having no hair, a fuller understanding of the context is needed. First, their admonition to “go on up” is a reference to Elijah - think something along the lines of “drop dead” or “you can get sucked up in a whirlwind, too!” The appellation of “baldy” is likely not a reference to him having no hair as much as an insult suggesting he’s a leper or otherwise diseased. The size and age of the crowd and their comments appear much more menacing in the proper cultural context, and some sources suggest that they were likely students and proselytes of the prophets of Baal who Elijah had destroyed. These were young men who were actively opposing the work of God and threatening the Man of God.

The two situations present a dichotomy that faces each of us: We are either devoted to and obedient to the One True God, or we are actively working in opposition to His purpose and plans and deserving of His judgment. While we would like to think that we are sitting on the sidelines and waiting to pick sides, or that we are on God’s team, but riding the bench, those are simply not options. Each one God calls, He calls for His purpose, and He equips for that calling.     

​“So, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed when I was with you, it is even more important that you obey now when I am away from you: keep working out your deliverance with fear and trembling, for God is the one working among you both the willing and the working for what pleases him.” Philippians 2:12-13

Lots of questions come to mind based on this chapter. Why would the servants turn back from their mission when a stranger answers their quest (especially when his answer is one that is provocative and negative)? Why did Azariah send a platoon of soldiers to bring Elijah back? Why did he send two more troops of men after the first troop was consumed by fire? (And how did he convince them to obey him, after the first outcome?) Why did Elijah call down fire on the first two platoons, but not the third one?

I don’t have the answers, but as I pray and ask God for understanding, several truths come to mind. First, Azariah certainly knew there was a God in Israel, yet he turned to a pagan false god in his most desperate moment. Where we look for help when we are in need reveals so much about our hearts, doesn’t it?

Second, the lack of belief in and worship of the true God had become so pervasive that a hundred men thought nothing of approaching a prophet of God and demanding that he come down because the king said so. They acknowledged his righteousness and relationship with God by calling him “Man of God,” yet they disdained to honor him or the God he served.

Finally, the sentence in verse 17b, which tells us Azariah had no son, might be easily overlooked. But we should note that this fulfilled what God had told Elijah in 1 Kings 21, that because Ahab humbled himself, the judgment on him would fall on his son, Azariah. Ahab’s descendants died with Azariah.
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Fortunately, most of us don’t have to worry about turning to Beelzebub for help. But we put our trust in a variety of false gods all the time. We trust in our money or our name to resolve a financial crisis. We put our faith in government to bring justice and peace. We count on pharmaceutical companies to provide a cure or in science to explain God’s creation. All of these things are not bad in and of themselves. God has provided them for us, and He often uses them to our benefit. But we must always keep them in perspective — these tools are not our salvation. God is our salvation.

When Ahab tells Micaiah, “How many times do I have to tell you not to lie to me?” after he has prophesied the same outcome as the false prophets, my first reaction is to laugh out loud at the humor. First Ahab surrounds himself by yes-men. When Jehoshaphat jumps in (see what I did there?) and says, “Don’t you have even one prophet of the LORD?” Ahab tells him, “Yes, but he never has anything good to say about me.” I wonder why? Then when Micaiah tells him what God has really said, how God purposely sent a lying spirit to the false prophets to lead Ahab to his destruction, Ahab says, “See! I told you he never has anything good to say!”

The kings decide to do what they had planned all along, regardless of any word from the Lord, and Ahab plans a disguise to try to keep himself safe. But he cannot hide from God. In the end, all that God had prophesied for Ahab was fulfilled. It’s a story full of ironic humor.

But I stop laughing when I realize how often I am just like Ahab.

I make up my mind what I want to do. Surround myself with people who agree with me. Disregard any counsel from God’s Word or strong believers who dare to disagree. Forge ahead without hitting pause to pray, or only praying for God to bless my plans rather than for Him to be my plan.

Too often, I assume I know what God’s will is based on what He has done in the past. In the past, God had given Israel victory against their enemies. But this time, He would not. I presume grace, because God has been so gracious in the past. God’s grace is abundant, but a heart that presumes it lacks the humility to receive it.
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Of all the sin that ensnares and trips us up, pride is the most pervasive, the oldest, and the deadliest. Pride tells us we are wise enough to make our own decisions. It suggests that we have the answers already. It urges us to judge others while we ignore our own shortcomings, but God warns us in Romans 2:3-4, “So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”

With all the evil that Ahab did, when he humbled himself, God still relented from sending judgment on him during his lifetime. What incredible mercy! Like Saul, who was guilty of murder but found grace, there is no depth from which God will not rescue us if we respond to Him with humility.

Our message this weekend from pastor J.D. Greear’s book, Not God Enough, is about how our insecurities reveal that we have not recognized the power of our God. When God called Moses and Moses moaned about how unprepared he was, God didn’t give him a pep talk about the power of positive thinking. He just said that He would be with him. That’s all Moses needed. And God with us is all you and I need to accomplish the impossible dream God has called us to!

I’ve seen this in my own life as God gave me a dream of publishing a story about teenage missionaries which might inspire the next generation to carry the gospel to the world. God granted more than I imagined by blowing up that single novel to a series! Even as I continue to complete this series, He has put a new project on my heart that He tells me will strike at the heart of the racial division in the body of Christ.

Friends, I say with Moses, “Who am I?” Who am I to think that I could write something that would have any value for the kingdom of God? Who am I to think that I could write something people would even read? Who am I to think that someone would pay to publish my words?

I know full well that I am not worthy of any of those things — and if I thought for a moment that I was, editing my latest work has disabused me of any such illusion.

But God’s Word says that it isn’t about me, it’s about God. And He is worthy of all things, able to do all things — and His abilities are not limited by my inabilities!
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I know. I’ve drifted far afield from Ahab. But the point is that God was not finished with Ahab. While there is yet breath, there is hope. Your limitations due to age, health, poverty, education, or even due to sin or addiction do not define your possibilities. God defines them. He says they are infinite because He is infinite, and He is with you if you will humble yourself and call on the One who says “I am” to all the things you and I are not.

This is one of those chapters that challenges our understanding of God. First, God gives victory to Ahab. Yes, that Ahab.
Isn’t he a pagan king who married the wicked Jezebel?

Isn’t he the one whose prophets of Baal Elijah recently defeated?

But then, Ahab shows mercy on the king of Aram, makes a treaty with him, and spares his life. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t see that one coming.

And, instead of God being pleased with him sparing a life and making peace, God sends a prophet to tell him that God had determined Ben Hadad should die, and by sparing him, Ahab has forfeited his own life in Ben Hadad’s place.

Timothy Keller has said, “If your God never disagrees with you, you might be worshipping an idealized version of yourself.” The God of the Bible is often unfathomable. We want to fit Him into a neat box and pull Him out like a party trick, but He refuses to play along. He has His own agenda. While we catch glimpses of it in the sacrifice of Christ for our salvation, much of it is simply beyond our understanding.

How humbling!

How frustrating!

Yet a God who is able to fit in our little box is not worthy of worship and is not capable of meeting our deepest needs. Just as Jacob wrestled with God, each of us must wrestle with aspects of God’s design that confound us. At the end of our wrestling, we must come to grips with the fact that God is who He says He is. We must accept His words: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” (Exodus 33:19 and Romans 9:15)

Yes, this is the biblical equivalent of “because I said so,” and my rebellious heart bristles at the notion that God doesn’t have to explain Himself or His decisions to me.
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But the reality is it is incredibly arrogant to believe my finite brain could grasp it if He did explain His infinite plans. Even more so to assume God has any obligation to do so.

I love Elijah’s response after having defeated all the prophets of Baal and of Asherah. It reminds me of how I react after God has done something amazing and then I’m confronted by a daunting challenge. Instead of recalling the amazing thing that God just did, and trusting that this new challenge is not too big for him, I often run away, curl up under a (metaphorical) bush, and whine about my circumstances.

Does that ever happen to you? You’ve just been to the mountaintop - on a mission trip, retreat, had revival, or some other experience where you saw God do something that left you in awe. Then you’re confronted with a big problem - your car breaks down, your house floods, or you suffer a terrible loss. Suddenly, all the amazing things you saw God do feel a million miles away and this problem looms over you like a giant statue of Baal. An idol. Not one you are worshipping, but one you are giving undue credit to nonetheless. You crane your neck to look up at this monolith that seems impenetrable, immovable, unscalable. You say things like, “I’m the only one left,” when you know very well that God has preserved a remnant. And even more, that God HIMSELF has said He would never leave you or forsake you.
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Maybe it’s just me. I love that God asks Elijah twice, “Elijah, what are you doing here?” Elijah repeats his mournful tale verbatim. I can almost hear a little angst creeping into his voice: “Weren’t you listening, God? I just told you: ‘I am the only one left! And now they are trying to kill me, too!’” Of course God was listening. He listens to me, too, even when I whine a little and repeat myself. Even when my eyes get locked on the idol the enemy puts before me instead of on the God who defeats every false god in our lives. And, yes, He not only listens but He speaks. And in my very best, most lucid moments, I listen.

We pursue so many things that are smaller and insignificant compare to God. Ahab and the people of Israel pursued Baal and Asherah, false gods without a single spark of power. We read the account of Elijah and the prophets of Baal and often view the people of that time as primitive and archaic, but the reality is our culture is no different. We call our false gods by different names, in fact we often conflate them with the One True God. It’s easy to do that if you don’t know much about God.
We say things like, “God helps those who help themselves.” But God’s Word says, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) It isn’t about us working hard, but about us acknowledging our desperate need.

We say, “God never gives us more than we can take.” But God’s Word says, “And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” (1 Corinthians 10:13) Providing us a way of escape from temptation is not the same as being spared from circumstances that exceed our capacity to cope. In fact, God often allows circumstances in our lives that are "more than we can take" in order for us to recognize our desperate need for Him!

We re-paint God in only one dimension: Love. But when we do so, we ignore that even as God is love (1 John 4:8), God is also holy (Revelation 4:8). We ignore that God chastens those He loves as sons and daughters (Hebrews 12:6), and He will judge all the earth (Revelation 19:11).

Understanding an infinite and infinitely faceted God is beyond our finite minds, so we create analogies to try to capture and convey our understanding. Our analogies fall short and always will, but as long as we understand that, they can be helpful tools to comprehend a single aspect of God. What they can’t be, ever, is a portrait of God!
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In what ways have I tried to edit God’s Word to provide me with a god I can understand and relate to? What scripture do I skim over because it’s just too harsh and doesn’t jive with my portrait of a god of love? What moments in my life do I try to reframe so that God’s work in my life fits in to my picture of Him, instead of asking Him to put those moments in context of the work He is doing in me?