Unleashed Power

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

UNLEASHED POWER

1 Kings 20:22-30

22 Afterward, the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, "Strengthen your position and see what must be done, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you again." 23 Meanwhile, the officials of the king of Aram advised him, "Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they. 24 Do this: Remove all the kings from their commands and replace them with other officers. 25 You must also raise an army like the one you lost — horse for horse and chariot for chariot — so we can fight Israel on the plains. Then surely we will be stronger than they." He agreed with them and acted accordingly. 26 The next spring Ben-Hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 27 When the Israelites were also mustered and given provisions, they marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped opposite them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside. 28 The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, "This is what the LORD says: 'Because the Arameans think the LORD is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the LORD.'" 29 For seven days they camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle was joined. The Israelites inflicted a hundred thousand casualties on the Aramean foot soldiers in one day. 30 The rest of them escaped to the city of Aphek, where the wall collapsed on twenty-seven thousand of them. And Ben-Hadad fled to the city and hid in an inner room.

NIV

It was foolish of Ben-Hadad to think the God of Israel could be contained in the hills, or, for that matter, anywhere. God Almighty is the God of everywhere, both of all the earth and all the heavens. He cannot be limited to any place or power that is devised by the mind of men. The proof is in this battle between an army that filled the countryside and a small group of Israelites that looked like two small flocks of goats. However, because of the power of Almighty God, Israel, who looked like two small flocks of goats, inflicted a hundred thousand casualties on the Aramean foot soldiers in one day. That is almost too much to imagine how such a small army that Israel had could do that much damage in one day. But then again, we cannot put any limits on the power of God, nor can we even imagine trying to limit His power and authority over the lives of those who worship Him. Of course, Ben-Hadad was only familiar with the gods of his own making, or gods devised by the mind of men. This is our lesson; we should take special care never, ever, not even once, to try to limit the power of God in our lives. The question that is before us is whether we try to limit God’s power in our lives. Do we want some of our own power, making our own way, doing what we want, quenching the Spirit, in one sense or another? Do we think our religiosity or spirituality, or our education, wealth, position, or any other skills or training are substitutes for the power of God? If we learn anything from Jesus, it should be to be humble of heart. Forget even trying to be prideful of anything within ourselves. We are like Israel in one sense, except we are just a small flock of sheep, and He is our Great Shepherd. Our Lord has all the power; many things are impossible for us, but there is nothing impossible with the Lord God Almighty. He can do all things. Although we are told that we can do all things through Jesus, who strengthens us, as Paul said in his letter to the Philippians. However, that was in the context of him knowing what it was to have plenty and to be in want, and he had learned to be content in every situation. However, Israel saw the power of God unleashed against the Armenian army. This is how we should be living. We should learn from the Psalmist to be still and know that He is God and unleash His power in our lives.