PREMATURE CONTENTMENT
2 Kings 13:13-19
In the Book of 2 kings, Chapter 13, Elisha was on his death bed. The King of Israel paid him a visit. Elisha told the king to open the window and shoot an arrow. When he did that, Elisha said: “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.” 2 Kings 13:17
Later, Elisha asked the king to smite the ground with the arrows. The king did this three times and stopped. However, Elisha expected the king to hit the ground up to five or six times. And Elisha was annoyed and said: “Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.” 2 Kings 13:19. Elisha seems to have told the king, “What is wrong with you? Why did you smite with the arrow only three times? Israel shall defeat their enemies only three times and the enemies will start dealing with them. You should have continued smiting the arrow until you finish the enemies.” (Paraphrased).
The king was prematurely satisfied and Israel lost the war due to his lack of continuity, even though they won the initial battles. The point is, never be satisfied prematurely with any level of result or success you have seen in your life. Refuse to agree that you have succeeded. Just keep moving forward despite your level of success and result in life. You must understand that until you see Jesus face-to-face, there is still one realm of success or result that you should keep striving to achieve.
Refuse to be prematurely satisfied. When you arrive too soon, you arrive too small. Do not let people clap for you when you are meant to be starting. Do not let people celebrate you into obscurity and irrelevance. Refuse to be satisfied prematurely. Where there is premature contentment, there can be no ultimate fulfillment. Keep on making impact for the Kingdom until your see Jesus face-to-face.
PRAYER: Lord, I ask that You deliver me from premature satisfaction. I receive the grace to keep making impact for the kingdom until I see You face-to-face in Jesus name.
