PICK YOUR BATTLES
TEXT: 2 KINGS 14:8-16.
🔑KEY VERSE “Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee up: glory of this, and tarry at home: for why shouldest thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?” (2 KINGS 14:10).
According to the Free Dictionary, to “pick your battle” is an idiom which means choosing not to participate in minor, unimportant or overly difficult arguments, contests or confrontations. lt is to save one’s strength instead, for things of greater importance or where one has a greater chance of success.
This is one truth that King Amaziah did not learn on time. With the help of God, Amaziah had defeated the Edomites and now without any provocation he challenged Jehoash, the king of Israel to battle. The king of Israel wisely counselled him to celebrate his success over Edom and be satisfied. He mortifies his pride, by comparing himself to a cedar, a stately tree and Amaziah to a thistle, a sorry weed. Israel was not comparable to Judah so Amaziah should not court trouble. Jehoash showed him the folly of his challenge. Amaziah did not listen and as a result, he went to war with Israel. He lost woefully in the end. His army was routed and dispersed; he was captured by the king of Israel who entered Jerusalem and plundered the city, took away all that was valuable and returned to Samaria, laden with spoils.
Like Amaziah, many Christians suffer humiliating defeat from the Jehoashs of the world today because of pride and inability to pick their battles. In life, one of the main choices that we make every day is the choice of obedience. We can choose to obey God and listen to His commands or choose to disobey and do our own thing. Our choices are ours to make but there are consequences to all our decisions.
Many battles await you as you go about your different activities today. Pick your battles with wisdom because it is not every battle that is worth fighting especially when you know that God is not leading you ahead.
✍THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Your choices matter, choose wisely.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR PSALMS 131-138.
MEDITATION THIS IS CALLED MANIPULATION
- Pride after success
a. Amaziah demonstrated moral excellence vv3,6.
b. manifested mastery and eminence in governance, v5 and
c. Had many military exploits, v7.
Pride after success is a natural syndrome which often results in dictatorship, licentiousness, arrogance, oppression, erosion of other’s rights etc. There must be daily, deliberate and determined self crucifixion in order not to fall a victim.
Q Can you recall cases of people who perished as a result of pride after success in the Bible? - Evidence of manipulation
Spiritual manipulation is a delusion and corruption of the human reasoning and faculty by human or invisible forces that often results in taking an obvious wrong decision.
a. No responsible reason why Amaziah should declare a state of war with Israel, v8.
b. Israel and Judah were even “brothers” and God never asked them to destroy each other except the heathen around them, v8.
c. Even the most foolish person in Judah knew that it was unreasonable, yet Amaziah was fully convinced of such an obviously deadly action, v8.
d. The king of Israel even made him to see reason and the repercussions, yet he could not be convinced, vv9,10,11.
e. The manipulated always act against reason, common sense and Bible sense and will not listen to any other reasoning until the wrong steps are taking, v11. - What made the manipulation easy
a. He allowed his success to get to His head, v10.
b. He became self opinionated that he refused advise, warning or counselling from anybody, vv10,11.
c. He descended low to the point of not listening to the warning from the prophet or word of God sent to him, 2 Chronicles 25:16.
d. The most disturbing of it all was his rejection of common sense and spiritual sense which made him to carry the idols of Edomites which he defeated and worshipping the idol as his god instead of the God who gave him victory, vv14-16.
e. Consistent stubbornness and rejection of the word of God coupled with exaltation of other reasons against God will eventually open the door to manipulations.
Prayer points
Ask for forgiveness of all your previous stubbornness and rejection of the word of God🙏
Promise God that henceforth you will be teachable and receive the grace to listen to God’s word and godly minded people🙏
Pray that God will keep you from evil and foolish manipulations🙏
Pray for your leaders, spiritual and secular, that the Holy Spirit will be ruling them and their hearts will not be opened to manipulations🙏
HYMN WASH ME, O LAMB OF GOD
- Wash me, O Lamb of God,
Wash me from sin!
By Thine atoning blood,
Oh, make me clean!
Purge me from ev’ry stain,
Let me Thine image gain,
In love and mercy reign,
O’er all within. - Wash me, O Lamb of God,
Wash me from sin!
I long to be like Thee –
All pure within.
Now let the crimson tide,
Shed from the wounded side,
Be to my heart applied,
And make me clean. - Wash me, O Lamb of God,
Wash me from sin!
I will not, cannot, rest
Till pure within.
All human skill is vain,
But Thou canst cleanse each stain
Till not a spot remain –
Made wholly clean. - Wash me, O Lamb of God,
Wash me from sin!
By faith Thy cleansing blood
Now make me clean.
So near art Thou to me,
So sweet my rest in Thee –
Oh, blessed purity,
Saved, saved from sin! - Wash me, O Lamb of God,
Wash me from sin!
Thou, while I trust in Thee,
Wilt keep me clean.
Each day to Thee I bring
Heart, life – yea, everthing;
Saved, while to Thee I cling,
Saved from all sin!
