II Kings | Kristi's Morning Devotional

April 25, 2024April 25, 2024

Surrounded

I always start my morning Bible reading in the Old Testament. This morning, I find myself in the book of Psalms. It’s such an encouraging way to start the day. The writers of the Psalms expressed their fears and their hopes, their sorrow and their joy and always they tell of their dependence on the Lord who is their strength, their joy, their refuge and their defense.

I find such encouragement in the Psalms – this morning I will refrain from my words and bring you God’s word for whatever you may be facing.

“I love you, Lord! You answered my prayers. ²You paid attention to me, and so I will pray to you as long as I live. ³Death attacked from all sides, and I was captured by its painful chains. But when I was really hurting, ⁴I prayed and said, “Lord, please don’t let me die!”

⁵You are kind, Lord, so good and merciful. ⁶You protect ordinary people, and when I was helpless, you saved me ⁷and treated me so kindly that I don’t need to worry anymore. ⁸You, Lord, have saved my life from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
⁹Now I will walk at your side in this land of the living. ¹⁰I was faithful to you when I was suffering, ¹¹though in my confusion I said, ‘I can’t trust anyone!’

¹²What must I give you, Lord, for being so good to me? ¹³I will pour out an offering of wine to you, and I will pray in your name because you have saved me. ¹⁴I will keep my promise to you when your people meet. ¹⁵You are deeply concerned when one of your loyal people
faces death.

¹⁶I worship you, Lord, just as my mother did, and you have rescued me from the chains of death. ¹⁷I will offer you a sacrifice to show how grateful I am, and I will pray. ¹⁸I will keep my promise to you when your people ¹⁹gather at your temple in Jerusalem. Shout praises to the Lord!” Psalm 116 CEV

Whether it’s physical, emotional, spiritual or financial death the attacks launched against us are real. The enemy can be seen or unseen; the threat of the termination of life, end of relationships, well-being or financial devastation are all things the Lord wants us to bring to Him.

“I look to the hills! Where will I find help? ²It will come from the Lord, who created heaven and earth. ³The Lord is your protector, and he won’t go to sleep or let you stumble.” Psalm 121:1-3 CEV

Look to the hills – that reminds me of the story of Elisha and his servant when they were surrounded by their enemies.

“‘Don’t be afraid,’ Elisha answered. ‘There are more troops on our side than on theirs.’ ¹⁷Then he prayed, ‘Lord, please help him to see.‘ And the Lord let the servant see that the hill was covered with fiery horses and flaming chariots all around Elisha.” II Kings 6:16-17 CEV

The Lord wants us to “see” that even though the enemy may seem to surround us there are more troops on our side than on theirs. The Lord is our defense, and He surrounds us with His love!

April 8, 2024April 8, 2024

Take Action!

Last night was one of those nights of very little sleep and a lot of prayer. Over and over in my prayer I voiced, “Lord, I trust You”. And the truth of that is, I do trust the Lord; I trust Him for my health, my peace, my children, my decisions, my rest and my words.

So, when I picked up my Bible to read, I was not surprised that this was the next Psalm in my reading.

“Praise the Lord and pray in his name! Tell everyone what he has done. ²Sing praises to the Lord! Tell about his miracles. ³Celebrate and worship his holy name with all your heart. ⁴Trust the Lord and his mighty power. ⁵Remember his miracles and all his wonders and his fair decisions. ⁶You belong to the family of Abraham, his servant; you are his chosen ones, the descendants of Jacob. ⁷The Lord is our God, bringing justice everywhere on earth. ⁸He will never forget his agreement or his promises, not in thousands of years.” Psalm 105:1-8 CEV

It’s a call to action!

Praise, pray, tell, sing, celebrate, worship, trust, remember. All are actions on our part but there’s also action on God’s part – He will never forget his agreement or his promises. God will never forget, nor will He break His word or alter it.

“God is no mere human! He doesn’t tell lies or change his mind. God always keeps his promises.” Numbers 23:19 CEV

As I started to write this, I was reminded of four men in the Bible who took action. Their story is recorded in II Kings chapter 7. They were 4 lepers, their country was under siege and the people were starving. Because they were lepers they had to live outside the city’s gates.

” …They said to each other, ‘Why should we sit here, waiting to die? ⁴There’s nothing to eat in the city, so we would starve if we went inside. But if we stay out here, we will die for sure. Let’s sneak over to the Syrian army camp and surrender. They might kill us, but they might not.'” II Kings 7:3-4 CEV

“When the four men with leprosy reached the edge of the Syrian camp, no one was there. They walked into one of the tents, where they ate and drank, before carrying off clothes, as well as silver and gold. They hid all this, then walked into another tent; they took what they wanted and hid it too.

⁹They said to each other, ‘This isn’t right. Today is a day to celebrate, and we haven’t told anyone else what has happened. If we wait until morning, we will be punished. Let’s go to the king’s palace at once and tell the good news.’” II Kings 7:7-9 CEV

Is there something that has caused you to be immobilized? Ask yourself the same question the lepers did, “should we sit here, waiting to die”.

Take action! Praise, pray, trust, remember, celebrate and then go tell what God has done!!

June 7, 2023June 7, 2023

Life Can Be Hard

I have been blessed in my life. God’s grace, strength, joy and peace have sustained me. There have been times I wanted to give up and quit but the support of loved ones and God’s grace encouraged me to go on.

Maybe you are in a really rough place right now – you’re tempted to quit. What’s the use of continuing on? I’d like to share a story that has always been an encouragement to me during hard times.

A king brought his army against the Israelites, they had surrounded Samaria and cut off all the food supply to the city. The situation became so dire that the people in the city were eating animal dung and even reports of cannibalism were recorded. They were in a desperate place – hope was gone.

There were four lepers who were outside the city wall and they asked a question, “Why are we sitting here waiting to die? There is no food in Samaria. If we go into the city, we will die there. If we stay here, we will also die. So let’s go to the Aramean camp. If they let us live, we will live. If they kill us, we will just die.” II Kings 7:4 ERV

Now that’s desperation.

It was time to do something even if it meant that they might die. So, they went. I’ve faced some difficult situations, but none have been this serious, how about you?

When they got to the enemy camp they found that the Arameans had fled and left all of their belongings.

7 The Arameans ran away early that evening. They left everything behind. They left their tents, horses, and donkeys and ran for their lives. 8 When these lepers came to where the camp began, they went into one tent. They ate and drank. Then they carried silver, gold, and clothes out of the camp and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent. They carried things out from this tent and went out and hid them. 9 Then they said to each other, ‘We are doing wrong! Today we have good news, but we are silent. If we wait until the sun comes up, we will be punished. Now let’s go and tell the people who live in the king’s palace.’” II Kings 7:5-9

Through these four lepers, the outcasts of society, God provided not only for them but for the whole city.

God is the same yesterday, today and forever. I’m not saying that you’re going to find an enemy camp with horses, clothing, food and gold but I am saying that God will provide. Your desperate situation isn’t desperate to God. He has the answer and is providing a way – that is His character.

“My God will use his glorious riches to give you everything you need. He will do this through Christ Jesus. 20 Glory to our God and Father forever and ever.” Philippians 4:19 – 20

Trust God – trust Him today and follow what He calls you to do. Life can be hard but don’t just sit there until you die!

April 20, 2023April 20, 2023

Going Through

This morning I did a search on the word “bridge”. I wanted to share with you some wonderful thoughts about Jesus being our “bridge over troubled waters” (yes, our church youth choir actually sang that when I was in high school). But there is no bridge Scripture.

I got to thinking about times in the Bible when people would have needed a bridge. Crossing the Jordan, The Red Sea, Sea of Galilee. You know what I found – God either parted the water or gave power to walk on it.

You may be looking for a bridge. Looking for something to help you cross a river of circumstances in your life. I want to offer you a new prospective. Instead of looking for a way over, look for a way through.

“Elijah took off his coat, folded it, and hit the water with it. The water separated to the right and to the left. Then Elijah and Elisha crossed the river on dry ground.” II Kings 2:8 ERV

“But now the Lord who created you, O Israel, says: Don’t be afraid, for I have ransomed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. 2 When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up—the flames will not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, your Savior, the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 43:1-3 TLB

The Father has victory for us if we keep our eyes on Him.

“At once, Jesus said to them, ‘Don’t worry! I am Jesus. Don’t be afraid.’ 28 Peter replied, ‘Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water.’ 29 ‘Come on!’ Jesus said. Peter then got out of the boat and started walking on the water toward him.” Matthew 14:27-29 CEV

The first thing you will hear from the Lord is “don’t worry, don’t be afraid”. In other words I can hear Jesus saying, “I’ve got this!” Peter’s problem came when he got his eyes off Jesus and on the circumstances. We must keep our focus and not become distracted from God’s promises.

But if we do get scared, like Peter, we call out for help and Jesus will grab ahold of us and bring us to safety.

“But Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid! Be strong, and see how the Lord will save you today. For the Egyptians you have seen today, you will never see again. ¹⁴The Lord will fight for you. All you have to do is keep still.’…Then Moses put out his hand over the sea. And the Lord moved the sea all night by a strong east wind. So the waters were divided. ²²And the people of Israel went through the sea on dry land.” Exodus 14:13, 14, 21, 22 NLV

So instead of trying to build a bridge today, keep still, step in and go through with God!

June 7, 2022June 7, 2022

Don’t Lose Hope!

Have you ever been in the middle of an adverse situation? Do you begin to think, “how long can this go on”; “I don’t think I can take much more”, “I just can’t do this any longer”? “How do I make a change in my situation”? Well, I have good news for you today!

In II Kings 6 & 7 the king of Aram had brought his army against the Israelites and they had surrounded Samaria and cut off all the food supply to the city. The situation became so bad that the people in the city were eating animal dung and even reports of cannibalism were recorded. They were in a desparate place – hope was all but gone.

There were 4 lepers who were outside the city wall and they asked a question, “Why are we sitting here waiting to die? 4 There is no food in Samaria. If we go into the city, we will die there. If we stay here, we will also die. So let’s go to the Aramean camp. If they let us live, we will live. If they kill us, we will just die.” II Kings 6:3-4

How long will we sit here, until we die?

It was time to do something even if it meant that they might die. They couldn’t go into the city because there was famine in the city, if they stayed where they were they would starve to death and if they went to the enemy camp they also faced the possibly of death but they had to do something. So they went. I’ve faced some difficult situations but none have been this serious, how about you?

When they got to the enemy camp they found that the Arameans had fled and left all of their food, clothing, horses, tents and gold.

7 The Arameans ran away early that evening. They left everything behind. They left their tents, horses, and donkeys and ran for their lives. 8 When these lepers came to where the camp began, they went into one tent. They ate and drank. Then they carried silver, gold, and clothes out of the camp and hid them…9 Then they said to each other, “We are doing wrong! Today we have good news, but we are silent… Now let’s go and tell the people who live in the king’s palace.” II Kings 7:5-9

Through these 4 lepers, the outcasts of society, God provided not only for them but for the whole city.

God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Your desperate situation isn’t desperate to God. He knows how to provide.

“Abraham named that place “The Lord Will Provide.” And even now people say, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” Genesis 22:14

Trust God today and follow what He calls you to do. Don’t lose hope – He will provide!

March 17, 2022March 17, 2022

Wash Day

Do you remember the kitchen towels that had different chores for each day of the week? Maybe your Mom had them or maybe you remember them fondly from your grandmother’s kitchen.

I found them in both those homes and in fact, those towels provided me with my first lessons in embroidery. According to the towels, Monday is wash day but since we were moving back from the racetrack on Monday, Wednesday became laundry day and so will today.

Too many loads to handle in one day so I divided it up.

A week or so ago I was telling Dave one of my memories from our early years of marriage. We were poor and money for groceries was often scarce. I told him I talked to the Lord about this and knew in my heart that one day I would no longer have to shop with my calculator in one hand and my grocery list in the other. Every purchase had to be considered because I only had so much that I could spend.

But…I didn’t tell him the rest of the story. The other part of my conversation with the Lord was about our clothing. It was necessary to do laundry several times a week so that we would have clean clothes to wear. To say our wardrobe was limited would be an understatement.

For years now, I thank the Father for prospering us. I no longer take a calculator to the grocery store and the only reason I have to do laundry more than once a week is because the hamper it full.

The Lord has taught me many lessons on wash day.

Hanging clothes on the line in those early days were some of my favorite times with the Lord. He taught me the meaning of so many Scriptures as I would reach in the basket of wet laundry and take the clothes pins from the bag. Yesterday’s lesson was a different one with no clothes line, this time there’s a dryer, but there was still a teaching to be learned.

“After Jesus said this, he spit on the dirt, made some mud and put it on the man’s eyes. ⁷Jesus told him, “Go and wash in Siloam pool.” (Siloam means “Sent.”) So the man went to the pool, washed and came back. He was now able to see.” John 9:6-7 ERV

Washing was important in the Bible. It was an action of promise. For the blind man it was an act of faith and obedience that gave him his sight.

For a man named Naaman II Kings 5), obediently washing brought cleansing from leprosy. But the washing that stands out most in my mind was when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.

“When Jesus finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and went back to the table. He asked, “Do you understand what I did for you?…¹⁴I am your Lord and Teacher. But I washed your feet. So you also should wash each other’s feet. ¹⁵I did this as an example for you. So you should serve each other just as I served you.” John 13:12-15 ERV

Washing was an act of serving, an act of love. I hope this gives you a whole new outlook for Wash Day.

October 28, 2021October 28, 2021

In Need of Light

Those of you who have been reading my blog for any length of time know that I get up each morning, come to my rocking chair with my coffee, read my Bible, pray and then write.

However, that changed a bit this morning.

This is a picture of my surroundings this morning. You can see my chair, my coffee cup, my Bible sitting on my computer. What you don’t see is light. When the auto timer for the lamp clicked on there was no light. I manually turned the light on and off but still no light. The bulb had burned out.

The room was dim.

I hate to say it but there are times when we are spiritually dimmed. Our lifestyles cause us to hurry and worry too much. We don’t take the time to sit and read God’s word, which is a light to our path.

“Your word is a lamp that gives light wherever I walk.” Psalm 119:105 CEV

“Lord, you are my Light and my Savior, so why should I be afraid of anyone? The Lord is where my life is safe, so I will be afraid of no one!” Psalm 27:1 CEV

When the light is dim we don’t see very well. In fact, the shadows in the darkness can distort what is really there. I remember a fellow in the Bible, he was servant to the prophet Elisha. He got up early in the morning and when he walked out he saw an enemy’s army surrounding him. He went and reported it to his master.

“Elisha’s servant got up early that morning. When he went outside, he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city. The servant said to Elisha, “Oh, my master, what can we do?”

¹⁶Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the army that fights for Aram.” ¹⁷Then Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, I ask you, open my servant’s eyes so that he can see.”

The Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and the servant saw the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire. They were all around Elisha.” II Kings 6:15-17 CEV

When the Lord shed some light on the matter, Elisha’s servant could see things he hadn’t seen before. He saw the Lord’s deliverance and protection.

When we go through life, looking at the circumstances through our own dim knowledge and experience we see things in the natural but when we spend time letting the Lord’s word light our way we begin to see things from a spiritual perspective.

From God’s perspective!

I’m happy to say that Dave replaced the burned out bulb when he got up and now I have good light again.

When circumstances have dimmed our way, go the Father and in His word we will find that light we need. After all, didn’t Jesus say “I AM the light of the world”?

October 20, 2021October 20, 2021

Oil of Joy!

I’d like to tell you a story this morning. It’s the story of a widowed woman and her sons. Her husband had died and she was in debt. She had no way of taking care of her family and her sons were to be taken away to pay for the family’s debts.

She went to the man of God, Elisha, to appeal to him for help. He asked her but one question, “What do you have in your house?”. “Only a little oil”, was her reply. He then instructed her to find all the empty oil jars she could. She was to go into her house, shut the door and start filling the empty jars from her little cruse of oil.

“So the woman left Elisha, went into her house, and shut the door. Only she and her sons were in the house. Her sons brought the bowls to her and she poured oil. ⁶She filled many bowls. Finally, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another bowl.’ But all the bowls were full. One of the sons said to her, ‘There aren’t any more bowls.’ Then the oil in the jar was finished! ⁷When she told the man of God what had happened, Elisha said to her, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debt. You and your sons can live on the money that is left.'” II Kings 4:5-7 ERV

Oil was a valuable commodity in the Middle East, it still is. Oil was used to keep their skin supple in the hot desert sun; it was used to light their lamps; it was used in the baking of their foods. It was a substance of life.

The prophet Isaiah told the Jewish people that when the Messiah came to earth He would provide for them.

“I will take away the ashes on their head, and I will give them a crown. I will take away their sadness, and I will give them the oil of happiness. I will take away their sorrow, and I will give them celebration clothes. He sent me to name them ‘Good Trees’ and ‘The Lord’s Wonderful Plant.’” Isaiah 61:3 ERV

It was the custom to wear sackcloth and put ashes on their head in time of mourning and disaster. But see what Isaiah tells them – when Jesus comes he replaces the ashes with a crown, sadness with the oil of joy and the sackcloth with clothes of celebration.

We have this same promise from Jesus. He promises us comfort, joy and peace! The Holy Spirit brings all these things to us.

“¹⁶I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever. ¹⁷The Helper is the Spirit of truth. The people of the world cannot accept him, because they don’t see him or know him… ¹⁸“I will not leave you all alone like orphans…

²⁵“I have told you all these things while I am with you. ²⁶But the Helper will teach you everything and cause you to remember all that I told you. This Helper is the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name. ²⁷“I leave you peace. It is my own peace I give you. I give you peace in a different way than the world does. So don’t be troubled. Don’t be afraid.” John 14:15-27 ERV

May I ask you, do you need joy, hope and peace? Let the Holy Spirit fill your vessel with the oil of joy!

June 7, 2020June 7, 2020

How Much Longer?

Are you beginning to wonder “how long can this go on”? Or perhaps you’re saying “I don’t think I can take much more”, “I just can’t do this any longer”? Well I have good news for you today!

In II Kings, chapters 6 & 7, the king of Syria (Aram) brought his army against the Israelites and they had surrounded Samaria and cut off all the food supply to the city. The situation became so grave that people in the city were eating animal dung and there were even reports of cannibalism. They were in a desparate place – hope was all but gone.

There were four lepers who were outside the city wall and they asked a question: “Why are we sitting here waiting to die? 4 There is no food in Samaria. If we go into the city, we will die there. If we stay here, we will also die. So let’s go to the Aramean camp. If they let us live, we will live. If they kill us, we will just die.” II Kings 7:3-4 ERV

How long will we sit here, until we die? It was time to do something even if it meant that they might die. They couldn’t go into the city because there was famine in the city, if they stayed where they were they would starve to death and if they went to the enemy camp they also faced the possibly of death but they had to do something. So they went.

I’ve faced some difficult situations but none have been this serious, how about you?

When the lepers got to the enemy camp they found that the army had fled and left all of their food, clothing, horses, tents and gold.

“So that evening the four lepers went to the Aramean camp. When they came to the edge of the camp, no one was there! 6 The Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a large army. So the soldiers said to each other, “The king of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to come against us.” 7 The Arameans ran away early that evening. They left everything behind. They left their tents, horses, and donkeys and ran for their lives. 8 When these lepers came to where the camp began, they went into one tent. They ate and drank. Then they carried silver, gold, and clothes out of the camp and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent. They carried things out from this tent and went out and hid them. 9 Then they said to each other, ‘We are doing wrong! Today we have good news, but we are silent. If we wait until the sun comes up, we will be punished. Now let’s go and tell the people who live in the king’s palace.’” II Kings 7:5-9

Through these four lepers, the outcasts of society, God provided for the whole city. They were men in a desperate situation and in that situation they saw God work a miracle for them personally and for their city.

We are told in the Book of Acts that God is no respecter of persons and He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Book of Hebrews). Now I’m not saying that we’re going to go out today and find an enemy camp with horses, clothing, food and gold but I am saying that God will provide. Our desperate situation isn’t desperate to God. He has the answer and is providing a way. One of God’s names is “Provider” and His name is a reflection of His character.

“Abraham named that place ‘The Lord Will Provide.’ And even now people say, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’” Genesis 22:14 CEV

“My God will use his glorious riches to give you everything you need. He will do this through Christ Jesus. 20 Glory to our God and Father forever and ever.” Philippians 4:19-20 ERV

Again, we come back to putting our hope in God. When we trust Him and follow what He calls us to do we will find Him there to help.

“So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.” Hebrews 4:16 CEV

August 6, 2019August 6, 2019

Outnumbered!

Do you ever feel outnumbered? Possibly it’s because your opinions differ from others or maybe you’re not as smart, talented, educated, wealthy or witty as those around you. It may be that you have faced a physical enemy or it could be an emotional attack. What do you do?

I’m reminded of Elisha and his servant.

“Time after time, when the king of Syria was at war against the Israelites, he met with his officers and announced, “I’ve decided where we will set up camp.” 9 Each time, Elisha would send this warning to the king of Israel: “Don’t go near there. That’s where the Syrian troops have set up camp.” 10 So the king would warn the Israelite troops in that place to be on guard. 11 The king of Syria was furious when he found out what was happening. He called in his officers and asked, “Which one of you has been telling the king of Israel our plans?”

12 “None of us, Your Majesty,” one of them answered. “It’s an Israelite named Elisha. He’s a prophet, so he can tell his king everything—even what you say in your own room.” 13 “Find out where he is!” the king ordered. “I’ll send soldiers to bring him here.” They learned that Elisha was in the town of Dothan and reported it to the king. 14 He ordered his best troops to go there with horses and chariots. They marched out during the night and surrounded the town. 15 When Elisha’s servant got up the next morning, he saw that Syrian troops had the town surrounded. “Sir, what are we going to do?” he asked.

16 “Don’t be afraid,” Elisha answered. “There are more troops on our side than on theirs.” 17 Then he prayed, “Lord, please help him to see.” And the Lord let the servant see that the hill was covered with fiery horses and flaming chariots all around Elisha. 18 As the Syrian army came closer, Elisha prayed, “Lord, make those soldiers blind!” And the Lord blinded them with a bright light. 19 Elisha told the enemy troops, “You’ve taken the wrong road and are in the wrong town. Follow me. I’ll lead you to the man you’re looking for.” Elisha led them straight to the capital city of Samaria.” II Kings 6:8-19 CEV

The odds were not good – two against an army. Outnumbered! The servant was worried and possibly had considered deserting Elisha but the prophet had his eyes on the Lord! He knew God’s promises – He was more aware of who God is and what God was doing than he was of the army sent to capture him.

David was the same way when it came to Goliath. He knew God had delivered him from a lion and a bear and that God would do the same with this enemy, an uncircumcised Philistine – a man who had no covenant with God.

Then there was Daniel and the lions; the Hebrew children and the fiery furnace; Moses and the Red Sea; Noah and the flood; Jesus and the storm at sea; Peter locked in prison; Paul & Silas chained in a dungeon and Jesus in the tomb. Each one of these circumstances is a reminder that God is faithful and we are never outnumbered when we are with God!

We must keep our eyes on the Commander and not the battle – with God we are a majority in any situation.

“The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 KJV

“What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? 32 God not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else? ” Romans 8:31-32 CEV

Take a page from Elisha’s battle plan – ” “Don’t be afraid,” Elisha answered. “There are more troops on our side than on theirs.” 17 Then he prayed, “Lord, please help him to see.”

When we are with the Lord – we outnumber the enemy!