Daily Devotions
JUST KEEP CHEWING!
“He struck three times, and stopped.” 2Ki 13:18 NKJV
When threatened by the Assyrian army, Israel’s king turned to the prophet Elisha for help. Elisha told him to take some arrows and keep striking them on the ground. But the king did it only three times and stopped. So Elisha 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” (v. 19 NKJV). It’s a story of partial victory; of what might have been if the king had put more into it. You see, it’s not just the opportunity—it’s the attitude that meets the opportunity that determines the outcome. God will give you chances to win, but it’s your commitment that determines the size of your victory. Paul writes, “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men” (Eph 6:7 NIV). The clock meant nothing to Paul because he was on a mission. “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may…complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me” (Ac 20:24 NIV). People of impact live with that mindset. So here’s the question: “Is your heart in what you’re doing? Are you giving it your all?” When Paul Hogan, who portrayed the movie character Crocodile Dundee, was asked how he became successful, he answered, “The secret of my success is that I bit off more than I could chew, and chewed as fast as I could.” Visions don’t come cheap or easy. The bigger your vision, the bigger the price tag. The secret to fulfilling your vision is—just keep chewing!
