Always another chance
But the Lord was gracious to them, had compassion on them, and regarded them, because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not yet destroy them or cast them from His presence. ~ 2 Kings 13:23
Have you ever messed something up and thought, “Well, I guess I’ve really blown it this time”? Maybe you made the same mistake again, ignored something God had been dealing with you about, or simply wandered farther from God than you intended. Then, just when you thought you had gone too far, God reminded you that His mercy hadn’t run out.
That’s one of the things that stands out to me in Today’s scripture reading. Israel had a long history of turning away from God. They had kings who did evil, people who followed false gods, and seasons when they seemed to forget the God who had delivered them time and time again. Yet when they cried out to Him, God had compassion on them. That doesn’t mean God approved of their disobedience. It means His mercy was greater than their failure.
I think that’s something as God’s people that we need to always keep in mind in today’s world. We live in a culture that can be quick to cancel, criticize, label, and move on. But God doesn’t treat us like a social media comment section. He sees our failures, but He also sees our hearts. He corrects us because He loves us, and He continues to call us back because we belong to Him.
As we look at this passage of scripture, there are three things I believe God wants us to remember when we’re walking through difficult seasons.
1. God’s mercy doesn’t mean He has forgotten you
Israel had experienced the consequences of their choices, yet when they cried out to God, He heard them. Verse 23 tells us that God was gracious to them and had compassion on them because of His covenant. God hadn’t forgotten them.
Sometimes when we’re struggling, we assume God’s silence means He’s distant. We think because we haven’t seen an immediate answer that He must have moved on. But God’s silence isn’t the same thing as God’s absence.
There may be moments when you don’t understand what God is doing, but you can still trust that He hasn’t forgotten you. Maybe you’re praying for a family member who doesn’t seem interested in God. Maybe you’re waiting for direction about a decision. Maybe you’re dealing with a financial situation that seems impossible. Maybe you’re simply tired and wondering when something is finally going to change. Don’t mistake the waiting for abandonment.
Here are some ways you can put this truth into action in your life today:
- When you’re waiting for an answer, keep praying instead of assuming God has forgotten you.
- When circumstances aren’t changing, remind yourself of God’s faithfulness in previous seasons.
- Keep showing up in obedience even when you don’t see immediate results.
- If you’re tempted to say, “God, where are You?” turn that question into a prayer, “God, show me where You are working.”
Faith is less about seeing God move and more about trusting that He’s moving even when you can’t see it.
2. Don’t settle for a partial response to God
One of the most interesting moments in this chapter happens when Elisha told King Joash to take the arrows and strike the ground. Joash struck the ground three times and then stops. Elisha became angry and told him that if he had struck the ground five or six times, he would have defeated Syria completely. Instead, he would only experience victory three times. That makes me want to ask myself, “How many times have I stopped when God was asking me to keep going?” Joash did what Elisha told him to do, but he stopped short.
There are times when we can obey God partially and still miss something He wanted to accomplish through our obedience. We start praying, then stop. We start serving, then get discouraged. We begin pursuing something God has placed in our hearts, then quit because it takes longer than we expected. Sometimes we want God’s direction, but we don’t necessarily want the persistence that comes with it.
Let’s be honest, we live in a culture that has trained us to want everything quickly. Fast food, next day shipping, instant downloads, one click purchases. We can become spiritually impatient too and think: “God, I prayed yesterday. What’s taking so long?” Most of the time, God requires perseverance.
Here are some ways you can put this truth into action in your life today:
- If God has told you to keep praying, keep praying.
- If God has given you an assignment, don’t abandon it simply because it’s taking longer than expected.
- If you’re building a relationship, ministry, business, or calling, don’t quit just because you’re not seeing immediate fruit.
- When you feel like giving up, ask God, “Is this the end, or am I simply tired?”
- Don’t confuse discouragement with God’s direction.
Sometimes the greatest victory is just one more act of obedience. You may feel like you’re striking the ground for the third time and wondering if it even matters. Keep going. You don’t always know what God is doing through your persistence.
3. God can bring life out of places that look finished
One of the most unusual moments in this chapter happened after Elisha died. While a man was being buried, the people saw a band of Moabites approaching. In their hurry, they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the man’s body touched Elisha’s bones, he comes back to life and stoods on his feet.
Talk about an unexpected burial service! But there is something powerful in this unusual story. God was showed Israel that just because Elisha had died, His power was still active. Elisha part was finished, but God wasn’t. The prophet was gone, but God’s power was still going. That’s an important reminder for us today. Sometimes we assume that because something has ended, God must be finished with it.
A season ends, and we think the best days are behind us. A ministry changes, and we think our usefulness is over. A relationship goes through a difficult season, and we assume restoration is impossible. A dream doesn’t happen the way we expected, and we think it’s dead. But God specializes in bringing life where we think something is finished.
That doesn’t mean every situation will turn out exactly the way we want. But it does mean we never have to decide that something is impossible for God simply because we can’t see a way forward.
Here are some ways you can put this truth into action in your life today:
- Don’t call something dead just because you can’t see how God could revive it.
- Give God your disappointments instead of deciding the story is over.
- Ask Him what He wants you to do with the season you’re in right now.
- When something ends, look for what God may be beginning.
- Encourage someone else who feels like their best days are behind them.
God isn’t limited by what looks finished to us.
What does this mean for us today?
This passage reminds us that God’s people aren’t promised a life without trouble. Israel experienced conflict, consequences, loss, and uncertainty. But through all of it, God remained faithful.
That’s good news for us because we’re living in a world that can feel uncertain too. We don’t know what tomorrow’s news will bring. We don’t know what challenges our families, churches, communities, or nation may face. But we do know the One who holds tomorrow. Our confidence can’t be based on everything around us going according to plan. Our confidence has to be based on the character of God. When you fail, His mercy is still available. When you’re waiting, He hasn’t forgotten you. When you’re tired, He can give you strength to keep going. When something looks finished, He can still bring life and when the world around you feels unstable, you can remain steady because your God hasn’t changed.
Today I want to encourage you to remember that God’s faithfulness is bigger than your circumstances and His mercy is greater than your failures. Don’t let yesterday’s mistakes convince you that God can’t work through you today. Don’t let today’s struggles convince you that God has forgotten you and don’t let something that looks finished convince you that God can’t still do something new.
If God has told you to keep going, keep going. If you’ve fallen, get back up. If you’ve wandered, come home. If you’re waiting, keep trusting and if you’re wondering whether God is still working, remember the words of 2 Kings 13:23. “The Lord was gracious to them, had compassion on them.”
That’s our heavenly Father. He is gracious, compassionate, faithful to His covenant and He doesn’t abandon His people when life gets difficult. So keep praying. Keep believing. Keep obeying. Keep striking the ground. You may not know how many times you need to strike it, but don’t stop simply because you’re tired. Your story isn’t over, because God is still writing it.
Today’s scripture reading: 2 Kings 13
1 In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years.
2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. He did not depart from them.
3 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael, all their days.
4 So Jehoahaz pleaded with the Lord, and the Lord listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them.
5 Then the Lord gave Israel a deliverer, so that they escaped from under the hand of the Syrians; and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as before.
6 Nevertheless they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin, but walked in them; and the wooden image also remained in Samaria.
7 For He left of the army of Jehoahaz only fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers; for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.
8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
9 So Jehoahaz rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Then Joash his son reigned in his place.
10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years.
11 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, but walked in them.
12 Now the rest of the acts of Joash, all that he did, and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
13 So Joash rested with his fathers. Then Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
14 Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die. Then Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, “O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!”
15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and some arrows.” So he took himself a bow and some arrows.
16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.
17 And he said, “Open the east window”; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. And he said, “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.”
18 Then he said, “Take the arrows”; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground”; so he struck three times, and stopped.
19 And the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times.”
20 Then Elisha died, and they buried him. And the raiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the spring of the year.
21 So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
22 And Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.
23 But the Lord was gracious to them, had compassion on them, and regarded them, because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not yet destroy them or cast them from His presence.
24 Now Hazael king of Syria died. Then Ben-Hadad his son reigned in his place.
25 And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz recaptured from the hand of Ben-Hadad, the son of Hazael, the cities which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times Joash defeated him and recaptured the cities of Israel.
Journal:
- Where in your life do you need to be reminded that God hasn’t forgotten you?
- Is there an area where you’ve been tempted to stop because you’ve become discouraged or tired?
- What has God asked you to keep doing even though you haven’t seen the results yet?
- Have you allowed a past failure to make you believe you’ve gone too far for God’s mercy? What does 2 Kings 13:23 say to you about that?
- Is there something in your life that you’ve considered finished that you need to place back into God’s hands?
- What is one act of obedience you can take today instead of waiting for everything to make sense?
- Write a short prayer thanking God for His mercy, faithfulness, and compassion toward you.
