ICS Daily Devotions
Responding to Crisis
Crisis is inevitable in our lives, but the way we respond to it will have very different outcomes.
2 Kings 6:27,31 And he said, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?”… Then he said, “God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today!”
When the Syrian army besieged Samaria, King Jehoram of Israel and his people were trapped inside the fortified city suffering a great famine. In the Old Testament, the king was supposed to work together with the prophet to know the will of the Lord.
Elisha had previously revealed to King Jehoram the location of his enemies (2 Kings 6:9-10), but instead of seeking the face of God and launching a counter attack to protect his people, the king chose to defend the fort. He blamed God and Elisha, and even wanted Elisha dead despite the help he had given him. In fact, if he had sought the face of God and consulted Elisha, he might have led a victorious conquest, for Elisha knew that more angels were for them than against them (2 Kings 6:16).
2 Kings 7:12 So the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “Let me now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.’ ”
When the king heard that the Syrians had fled, even though the Word of God as revealed by Elisha had come to pass, he reacted with skepticism, doubt and fear instead of with joy. He neither comforted the woman who lost her child to cannibalism, nor brought confidence to his soldiers. He didn’t to rise up to the occasion to play his role well as king, preferring to hide in the fortress and die of hunger with all his subjects. He didn’t believe the Word of God as spoken through Elisha but needed to see with his eyes before he believed.
Today, we have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, and are well equipped to hear from God personally without needing a prophet, but let’s not be passive like King Jehoram, who didn’t take responsibility as king but blamed God. Instead, let’s actively seek the face of the Lord in time of crisis.
Sermon Series: The Four Lepers, The Officer And The King
