DEVOTION – DAY 275

2 Kings 5:42-44 “Power From Above”

 

2 Kings 5:42-44 A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said. “How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked. But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says: They will eat and have some left over. Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.

 

The prophet Elisha was recognized as God’s prophet and representative. Thus, a man came to him and presented him with an offering of twenty barley loaves that was an offering to the priesthood of the Lord. The offering was meant to be given to Elisha to sustain him and his fellow co-workers. With him at that time were a hundred men. Elisha instructed his servant to give the twenty barley loaves to the men to eat. The barley loaves in ancient times were no bigger than large bread rolls. That was why the servant told Elisha that the bread was insufficient to feed the men. The bread was multiplied at the word of the Lord through Elisha because Elisha told the servant, “The Lord says: They will eat and have some left over.” And the servant witnessed that the bread was sufficient to feed everyone with some leftover just as the Lord had said through Elisha.

 

Elisha recognized that on his own, he had no power to cause the bread to miraculously multiply to feed one hundred men. But Elisha did not rely on his own power. He relied on the Lord and trusted that the Lord has the power to do as He said. If the Lord said “They will eat and have some left over,” Elisha believed it and he acted upon that belief. God honored Elisha’ faith in Him and He graciously multiplied the bread to feed everyone with some left over.

 

A wise pastor once told me that serving the Lord in ministry was spiritual work and it requires spiritual power and strength that only the Lord could give. If we try to do the work using our own strength, we will have limited success and we may even fail. This pastor advised me to always seek the Lord’s empowerment and enablement and to give God the glory.

 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we acknowledge that without your guiding hand over all that we do, our efforts would be fruitless. When you work through us, we are fruitful and our work prosper. May all glory go to you. Help us to always depend upon you and to give you all the glory and praise. In the great name of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

 

Questions

  1. When you do something for the Lord, how often do you seek His help? Or do you only seek the Lord’s help when you face some difficulty?
  2. How has this devotion caused you to re-think about how you should be serving the Lord?
  3. How can you praise the Lord who has called you to serve in a ministry?
  4. What should be your attitude as you serve the Lord in an area of ministry?