Missed Opportunities

“Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”

2 Kings 13:18-19

Have you ever got that sick feeling in your stomach whenever you realized you just missed an amazing opportunity? I wonder if that is how the King of Israel felt the moments after Elisha the prophet spoke those words. Israel had been oppressed by Hazael, king of Aram, for many years. Hazael, along with his son Ben-Hadad, had taken land and captured cities in the northern regions of Israel. During this time, Elisha the prophet, became ill. It would be an illness from which he would eventually die. Jehoash, king of Israel, came to him and wept over him. As the king mourned over him, Elisha instructed him:

“Get a bow and some arrows,” and he did so. “Take the bow in your hands,” he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. “Open the east window,” he said, and he opened it. “Shoot!” Elisha said, and he shot. “The Lord’s arrow of victory over Aram!” Elisha declared. “You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.”

2 Kings 13:15-17

From his death bed, Elisha prophesied victory for the King of Israel. A door of opportunity had been opened. A door to complete and total victory over the Arameans. There was an amazing opportunity there for Jehoash to do something remarkable. However, his heart was not fully committed to God:

“He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he continued in them.”

2 Kings 13:11

A door had been opened, once and for all, for Israel to be delivered from the threat of Aram, but Jehoash’s half-heartedness cost him! Elisha told Jehoash take the arrows and “Strike the ground.” Jehoash took the arrows and instead of striking the ground forcibly five or six times, he simply struck the ground three times and stopped. Elisha became angry and said:

“You should have struck the ground five of six times, then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”

2 Kings 13:19

I can only imagine what King Jehoash’s face must have looked like when he heard the prophet’s pronouncement. Instead of completely destroying the Arameans, now he would only defeat them three times. Jehoash failed to make the most of the opportunity that had been given him. William James, a famous American philosopher, once said: “He who refuses to embrace a unique opportunity loses the prize as surely as if he had failed.” Jehoash failed because he did not fully embrace the opportunity afforded to him by the prophet Elisha. Like, Jehoash, we are not held back by a lack of opportunity, but more often by our failure to make the most of the opportunities that have been afforded to us. As we move into 2010, let it be our fervent desire to make the most of every moment that God opens a window to our victory!

Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com