Day 63- Empty Vessel
📖Daily Reading
2 Kings 5-7
🎥 Video
Join me on my morning walk as we rise and shine together by walking through the Bible daily and learn a practical applicable coaching nugget from the ultimate life coach - our creator (whatever that means to you). No judgement zone here, all are welcome, we are all on a spiritual journey because we are after all spiritual beings having a human experience.
📝 Reflection
2nd Kings 5: 9-10; 6: 16-17
So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door Elisha’s house. “But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan Rive. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.”
“Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes and when he looked up he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.
As I am reading and pondering 2nd Kings and the stories of Elisha, I can’t help but see the foreshadowing of Jesus. A few days back when we discussed burning the boats which was inspired by Elisha burning his team of ox he must have not just gone all in, but gone all out! Meaning, he was able to get himself out of the way more than other great men of the Bible that have come before him, he was close to being able to accomplish being an empty vessel. He moved out so God could move in. There is just an ‘air’ about him and the words used to relay the events and miracles he performed. A certain ‘swagger’, not arrogance, but true power combined with humility.
The scriptures referenced above for me capture this essence of the relationship he had with God by going all in and all out! First we learn that Naaman, the commander of the King of Aram’s army, became afflicted with Leprosy. He had a maid who was from Israel who recommended that he go see Elisha to be healed. He heeds this advice and travels to Elisha’s home. Elisha doesn’t come out to meet him but sends instructions via messenger on how he can be healed. Naaman is really offended by this, he starts yelling and complaining to his officers. Something to the effect of ‘doesn’t he know who I am, he won’t even see me face to face and sends these silly instructions. If that is all it takes to be healed are the waters in my town much better that the dirty Jordan River…..’and on and on. He just rants and raves from his own pride and ego. His men are like; ‘calm down dude, you are getting focused on the wrong thing here, why don’t you just give it a try, what have you got to lose?’. So then he calms down, listens to the voice of reason, follows the instructions and is healed! He is so grateful that he goes back to Elisha to thank him and to proclaim that the God of Israel is the one and only true God and he will worship Him from here on out. He also asks Elisha to ask God for him if he could make one exception, since he is the Kings right hand man he will have to bow his head when he is with the King who worships the god Rimmon. Elisha says “Go in peace.”
So after this brief summary of this interaction. I picked up on the battle of ‘ego’s’ if you will. Elisha because he is so filled with God’s spirit, knows that Naaman will come with his own expectations of how a man of God should behave and should treat him. He gets a rude awakening. Elisha is not at all phased by this, nor is God. They saw this coming and intentionally sent the first clear message - ‘don’t you know WHO I AM?’. I will not answer the door personally, because of not only who you think you are, but that you don’t understand yet who I AM whose I am! They put Naaman in his place from the beginning. It took awhile, but Naaman got it and recognized who he was really dealing with. Elisha did not bend to human expectations or normal expectations of the time. He was confident in whose he was as God’s messenger, he was able to be God’s vessel, because he emptied himself of himself. He went all in and all out!
The second example is so epic! Another example of just how clearly Elisha saw everything because he was so filled with God’s spirit and vision. In a moment of what must have felt like the end, to Elisha’s servant, Elisha asks God to bless his servant with eyes to see what was really there and how surrounded they were by God’s armies. Oh how I wish I could be blessed that way! I am getting chills just typing this. “He looked up and saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.” Notice how it specifically says the hillside around Elisha. This is an image to keep in your mind’s eye in times when you feel down and out, alone, defeated, discouraged, fearful, hopeless, etc.. Pray to be an empty vessel and filled with the truth of God’s mighty power and Holy Spirit that we have access to today because of Jesus and see how surrounded you are by God’s armies!
✍🏼Daily Journal Prompt
Maybe you have gone all in and you feel like you are still not getting the results you hoped for and you are losing hope. Maybe the next question we can ask ourselves is do we need to go all out? Are we still to full of ourselves and our own agenda that we are limiting God and therefore ourselves?! Go all in AND go all out, be an empty vessel, see if this approach doesn’t start to yield results. Often we can get what we want easier by letting go of having to have it, God’s ways are not our ways. Maybe like Naaman, give up your pride and just give it a try, what have you got to lose?
📖Tomorrows Reading
2 Kings 8-11
Coaching Opportunity
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