He said, 'Take the arrows;' and he took them. He said to the king of Israel, 'Strike the ground;' and he struck three times, and stopped. The man of God was angry with him, and said, 'You should have struck five or six times. Then you would have struck Syria until you had consumed it; whereas now you will strike Syria just three times.' 2 Kings 13:18 WEB

Israel had been invaded by Syria for years and King Joash was constantly having to defend against their attacks. Their cities were taken and retaken. It was a constant struggle. The prophet Elisha told the king what to do, but Joash did half as much as Elisha intended. The struggle could have ended earlier if he would have continued doing what God had instructed him to do.

Many times when struggling with an addiction or bondage, we stop just short of making an end of it. We have it beaten, it is almost dead, we are nearly free, but then we stop and it begins to grow stronger again. Soon we are struggling with it once more. Once again, we did not see it completely through to the end. You have to be ruthless, desperate, and relentless to get free of it. You can never let your guard down, never think you are now immune to the things that bound you in the past.

God will help you get free from the things that hold you. He will guide you, but you must to work with Him one day at a time. You have to continue to do your part, until the end of it. It is like climbing a slippery hill. When you fall, get back up and take another step forward. If you lay there you will slide right back down to the bottom and have to start over. So get up quickly, and take the next step towards your freedom.

Prayer: Heavenly Father please renew my energy and clear my mind. Help me to see what could be. Refresh my hope. I want what You want. May Your kingdom come, and my kingdom go. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

Note: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chron 7:14) ~ If you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network

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