Feb 01

The story of Elisha being used by God to bring back a dead boy to life holds many lessons for us, not the least of which is that when we enter into the arena of doing miracles which only God can do, we must be careful to do them only under his direction and then only as he instructs us to do.

Bizarre actions and ideas are all too often attributed to God, when in reality they stem from other sources. I have heard of people who have stood up on chairs and spoken in tongues, disrupting church services. I know of a person who yelled at a corpse to rise out of a coffin in the name of Jesus, ruining a funeral service that was otherwise given to the glory of God. Both of these events were public and not commissioned by God.

By contrast, notice what Elisha did when performing the miracle that God allowed him to be a part of: He first shut the door, so that no curiosity seekers could dishonor the miracle God was about to work (2 Kings 4:33). He also prayed beforehand, likewise in private.

Miracles are not for entertainment or excitement, although we certainly should be excited to see God perform his work. Miracles are given by God to accomplish his purposes, the main one of which is to shower his love on those who love him--and on those who don't. He "sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matt. 5:45).

Elisha's deed of restoring a lad back to life and giving him to his mother was an act of love. Elisha, though an Old Testament believer, was a 7th-chapter-of-John believer. He was one in whom the love of God had filled his heart through the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5). Then that Spirit of love and life flowed out of him into others. But this did not happen until
Elisha humbled himself and got very intimately involved with those others.

How involved are you in the lives of others outside your own family? The measure of that involvement is a measure of your love.

Scripture for today: 2 Kings 4:8-37
Thought for today: What if someone's salvation depends on my obeying God in the matter that is before me just now?
Prayer for today: O Lord, how lightly I take the tasks you set before me to do. Help me never to be unwilling to do whatever it is you ask of me. Remind me how important it is to do what you tell me to do. May no one ever miss knowing you because of my disobedience.

FEB 01