SHOOT YOUR SHOTS

• DAY 322
• FEAR FILE: JOASH, KING OF ISREAL
• SCRIPTURES: 2 Kings 13:14-20

“And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and some arrows.” So he took himself a bow and some arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. And he said, “Open the east window”; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. And he said, “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.” Then he said, “Take the arrows”; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground”; so he struck three times, and stopped. And the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times.””

‭‭II Kings‬ ‭13‬:‭15‬-‭19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In Nigerian, (and maybe other parts of the world) we have a colloquial slang that has gained online notoriety, shoot your shot. It means to try your luck, take a chance, or seize an opportunity. A lot of people have found jobs, spouses, clients, collaborations, and popularity just because they took a chance. This required courage on their part.

Some of the people this worked for had to try more than once to get a reply. Some had to keep shooting at different times with different people and finally, it worked. Others didn’t get a result because they quit after a few failed attempts. Today’s text, both literally and figuratively, shows what happens when people are too afraid to take a shot.

Elisha was about to die, and King Joash of Isreal went to pay him a visit. He was very sad, and maybe afraid, that Elisha was going to die. Elisha was a mighty prophet who performed great miracles in his lifetime. One time he was helping the king of Israel evade the Syrians by revealing their battle plan to Isreal. Another time, he called blindness on the Syrian army that came for him and handed them, and their chariots, over to the king of Israel. So chances were Israel would not withstand Syria if Elisha died, or so King Joash thought.

A Shot For Deliverance

However, God had a plan to help Israel through the hands of Elisha. So Elisha offers him an opportunity for endless victory but he would have to shoot some shots. The first was through the east window, and with that, he launched God’s delivering power over Israel. Then he was asked to shoot the ground this time. but he shot 3 times and stopped and that provoked Elisha.

This king had an opportunity to completely annihilate his enemies but he chickened out after 3 tries. The first time he shot, it took one try. So, he was probably wondering why the Prophet had said nothing. Shot one, nothing! Two, nothing, and the third time still nothing?! So he probably concluded that he had done enough and quit. But Elisha was hoping he was wise or courageous enough to keep shooting until he ran out of arrows. Because of his timidity, he and Israel remained under the oppression of Syria.

Who Said Quit?

Sometimes, we quit or give up too easily. We try one, two, three, and it’s over, so we walk away and move on. Why are you walking away and moving on? Has the Lord asked you to stop? Did He say stop praying, stop hoping, stop striving, stop applying, stop taking a chance? When did He ask you to give up? The next phase of your life will require the doggedness it takes to not quit. You have to make up your mind like Esther and say “We die here.”

Before you go, ask God for the courage to persist and persevere. May you not miss your miracle because you got tired. In Jesus’ name.

Shalom.