Tag: took counsel

178. O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.

2 Kings 6:8  Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.

And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

2 Chronicles 16:9    For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.

2 Chronicles 32:7-8    “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.  With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Isaiah 8:10    Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.

Matthew 26:53    Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?

Romans 8:31    What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

I am always intrigued when I read this account of Elisha and one of his servants when surrounded by the Syrian army. Two against a powerful army.  Elisha was so matter of fact.  “Do not be afraid for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  And then to add to this statement he prayed that the Lord would open his servant’s eyes so he should see those God had supplied.  “The mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”  “If God is for us who can be against us?” “for God is with us”, “but with us is the LORD our God, to help us “.

Has God changed?  Is His protection ever far from us?  No God has not changed and He is never far from us.  He is always present.  So why does it feel like He is not close and not helping?  Is it because we are not close to Him?  Have we strayed from Him?  Have we come to love this world and what it has to offer more than humbly serving God and following and obeying Him?  Have we become blind in our faith and deaf to the knowledge of Him?  Are we like Elisha’s servant who says “what should we do”?

We stray from God when we neglect His word.  We stray away when living for Him has been replaced by so many other things that keep us busy thinking about everything but Him.  Busyness is not an excuse – it is a choice.  We can choose to be close to Him, honoring Him, serving Him, relying on Him, following Him, obeying Him, and trusting in Him – ALL OF THE TIME!!!  Not just when it is convenient or fits our schedule.

Choose to be close to Him, stay in His word each day, seek His leading, and listen for His direction.

146. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

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1 Kings 12:25  Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings.

Psalms 14:1    The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good

Mark 2:6  Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,  “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?

2 Corinthians 10:5    We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

1 Peter 1:14-15    As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

Jeroboam had a thought and it was heart deep. Since this happened, then this will happen, and because of that, I must do this.  All of these thoughts took place in his heart.  They took root and he acted upon them.  He replaced God with two golden calves and set times of feasting and sacrificing and placed priests who were not of the tribe of Levites.  He started down a path because of a thought in his heart and then continually took action in-line with that original errant thought.

Nothing has really changed in man over the years.  Thoughts still come into our heart and mind.  Many of these thoughts have a sin origin and unless we take them captive they will lead us on paths to make decisions that capture our heart, mind, and soul and not in line with honoring or following or obeying or trusting God.

We believe the lie or deception or illusion because the word of God is not in our heart and mind.  Our desire for His word has been replaced.  It is not as though we were given a black and white choice in this matter.  It is just not that clear cut.  What happens is we allow the busyness of life and cares of this world to seep into our heart.  It starts with a little neglect of His word and this soon becomes a habit that changes how we see things, how we make decisions, how we think, and what we allow ourselves to think about and dwell on.

Paul gave us “Take every thought captive to obey Christ”.  To understand our thoughts in light of His word we must have His word in our heart with a desire to have it expose wrong thoughts and keep our feet on the path that humbly serves, honors, follows, obeys, and trusts in Jesus Christ.