The Joy of Glory

2 Kings 2:1-12 (click here to read the entire passage)
Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel…

Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho…

Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. (2 Kings 2:1-2, 4, and 6)

Reflection
My kids and I don’t go hiking often, but when we do it is my responsibility to know and show the way. They simply get to follow.

This is apparently more difficult than it seems.

It is not uncommon for their feet and legs to begin to ache, which leads to their mouths uttering complaints.

“How much longer?… Can we stop?… I’m tired!”

Truth be told… it really would be so much easier if I simply said to them, “Sure, you can stop. Just stay here and rest while I continue on.” At least that would be easier in the short run. However, they would soon find themselves lost in the woods and unable to navigate the way to our destination.

In 2 Kings 2, Elijah knows that his time on earth has come to a close and it is time to pass his prophetic position on to his follower Elisha. He seemingly takes Elisha on a senseless journey through several towns, offering to let Elisha stay behind at each one. Truth be told… that would be the easier thing for Elisha to do. I’m sure the trip seemed long and he probably wanted to stop because he was growing tired. But, Elisha pressed on.

You see, Elisha knew that for all each town might have to offer, they did not have the one thing he truly wanted… Elijah!

Elisha wanted nothing more than to follow his master, to learn from him and to imitate him so that he might know and love God in an Elijah-like way.

Do you have an Elijah in your life? Someone you follow, learn from and long to imitate because they are so like Christ? Someone who can teach you how to press on when you pass through the places of this world that tempt you to quit following the Lord?

Truth be told… we all have times in our walk with Christ where we feel like my children on the trail… “How much longer?… Can we stop?… I’m tired!”

Yet, if give up, we will soon find ourselves lost in the woods of the world, unable to navigate the way to our destination. And we will find that the world does not have the one thing to offer that our hearts most deeply desire… Christ!

We all need an Elijah (or multiple Elijahs) in our life… people whose walk with Christ beckons us to press on (This is one of the ways God provides the power for us to press on… through other people)! So that, even if they themselves were to say, “Do you want to stop and settle down into the comforts of the world?” We would reply, “No! You have shown us the worth of following Christ… so we are pressing on alongside you toward joy in Jesus!”

Truth be told… quitting may be easier, but Christ is so much better! So, in the power he provides, we press on!

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

2 Samuel 23:1-7 (click here to read the entire passage)
The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. (2 Samuel 23:3-4)

Reflection
Right now… outside the window, I hear the rain pouring down.

On Saturday, I spent nearly the whole day outside with my kiddos with the sun shining on my face as we laughed and played.

Sunshine and rain… both good. Both life-giving. Both gifts.

God says good kings are like this. “When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light… like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.”

The Lord spoke these words to David, Israel’s greatest King. And sure… David was able to see echoes of this truth in his own life. When David feared the Lord, worshipped him, and loved him above all it spilled over into loving rulership of his people.

And if we are honest, the stirs up a longing in us for we do not see much in the way of rulers who fear the Lord these days. Instead of sunshine and life-giving spring rains, our days are too often described as dark days of drought.

But we are a people who take heart!

Our hope is not tied to any human ruler or kingdom. If we are honest, we know that even King David’s kingdom wasn’t all sunshine, April showers, and spring flowers… it had its dark days of drought.

But… the day is coming when the King of kings, the true and greater David, Jesus will return! His face shines brighter than the sun! He is the living water that never runs dry!

Jesus is the good-life-giving-gift!

So today, we live as a people of hope… for we have seen the rising sun and the coming rains! We live as citizens of a coming kingdom and we bear witness to the hope of our coming King!

When we do this… we become like rays of sunshine and drops of life-giving rain already breaking into the dark-drought of our world!

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Ruth 1:15-18 (click here to read the entire passage)
…Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” (Ruth 1:16-17)

Reflection
“Where you die I will die.”

Well that’s intense.

These are the words Ruth said to her mother-in-law Naomi after Ruth’s husband had died. She didn’t have to say this. In fact, it would have been to her social advantage to depart from Naomi… to go back home… to remarry. Yet, she said she would stay… always. Why?

The simplest answer is that she loved Naomi more than she loved herself. The only future that Ruth wanted was the one that included Naomi, no matter how bleak that looked to the rest of the world.

If going with Naomi meant poverty, then Ruth was willing to embrace poverty. If going with Naomi meant hunger, then Ruth was willing to go hungry. If going with Naomi meant death… then Ruth was willing to look death in the face and say, “Where you die I will die.”

Is there anyone or anything in our lives about which we are willing to say these same words?

Is there anyone or anything about which we are this intense?

As Christians, we are all ready to shout the Sunday School answer, “Yes! Jesus!” But is it true? We can know if it is true… all we have to do is put ourselves in Ruth’s shoes.

Instead of Naomi, we find ourselves standing there with Jesus. What if going with him means poverty? Will we embrace poverty? What if going with him means hunger? Will we go hungry? What if going with him means death? Will we look death in the face and call it what the apostle Paul does in Philippians 1:21… “Gain!”

You see, the amazing truth of the gospel is tied up in that one word, “gain!” Because, no matter if I lose everything, if I get Jesus I still gain! There is no greater treasure than him!

So, analogous to Ruth with Naomi… the only future I want is the one that includes Jesus! I don’t care if that takes me down the bleakest looking path in the eyes of this world… even if it takes me to death!

We are a people who call death gain… and yes, that’s intense, but that’s because Jesus is intensely worth more than life itself!

Ruth loved Naomi more than her own life… may we love Jesus with even more intensity!

 
*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.