My thoughts (Tommy Chittenden):

Well, my very first thought after reading the assigned passage, was “Why me”? Why did our editor assign me this particular passage about a bald-headed prophet? Was it because I am bald, and therefore likely to relate to Elisha’s reaction, or was it simply because I was next on the list of names to assign a passage and this happened to be the next passage needing assignment? I don’t know. But interestingly enough, the passage did call to memory similar moments in my life as a Youth Pastor in Atlanta, Georgia and Plainfield, Indiana.

Not that I ever “called down a curse” on any of my young people who, on more than one occasion, would do things like put their hands in front of their face while pleading for “someone” to please “turn off the spotlight.” Fortunately, I’ve had a pretty healthy dose of self-confidence so that I could easily deflect their comments with humor. But I digress — sort of.

Do you remember the television commercial for a certain margarine where Mother Nature was offered a taste of something she was told was butter but was actually margarine? When told of the deception, she replied, “it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!” at which point a storm erupts. This humorous commercial came to mind (after the “why me” contemplations) as I pondered this scripture. Apparently, it’s not nice to make fun of a prophet, either. As the storm erupted when Mother Nature was deceived, so also a storm of terrible proportions is unleashed on some young people who called Elisha a bald-headed man. Why were these 42 youth mauled by bears just for calling Elisha a name?

Sorry — you’re not going to get much help from me on this one. I simply don’t know. And those who have written commentary about these verses don’t seem to be able to agree either. So I’m going to direct your attention to a parallel phenomenon to which many (or most) of us can relate and I’m going to do so by simply listing names. Search your heart and you decide, in the context of today’s passage, what these names have to do with you, me, Elisha, the jeering youth and what God might be saying to you today.

Jerry Falwell, Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, Donnie McClurkin, Ted Haggard, Fred Phelps — yep, even Fred Phelps — and the ministers or others who have judged you for being who you are!

I know that all of us, even “prophets of God”, miss the mark and fall far short of our potential to act in love in every situation. If you would like to consider this essential truth — and our essential call — further, I invite you to revisit Pastor Jeff’s message from August 16, Thou Shalt Not!

Thought for the day: God, when I consider anyone who has spoken words of judgment against me or someone I love, prompt my sacred heart to ask the question, “What would love do now?” I do not want to miss the mark!

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Jeff Miner):

Today’s reading tells two thought-provoking stories. The point of the first, it seems to me, is that spiritual people have the power to transform poisonous situations. That’s worth meditating on. Am I the kind of person God can count on to turn a poisonous situation good?

But the second story is even more meaningful to me. There, Elisha performs his version of Jesus’ miracle of multiplying the fishes and loaves — except in Elisha’s case the menu is barley bread and ears of grain, and instead of needing to feed thousands (as was Jesus’ challenge), Elisha only has to feed one hundred. Still, though, the problem is the same — far too little to go around.

Being a “Type A” personality, I feel like I face Elisha’s challenge all the time. There are a million things to do, and never enough time to do them. As a result, I can fall into the trap of constant frustration. If only there were more hours in the day!

Not long ago, I read an article in the magazine Christianity Today written by F.B. Meyer (Vol. 33, No. 9) that really spoke to me. The title of the article was, Just Enough Time Is Left. Meyer’s words felt like God’s words to me. Read them slowly to yourself; let them sink in:

Do not be in too great a hurry. There is time for everything that has to be done. The One who gave you your life-work has given you just enough time to do it in. The length of life’s candle is measured out according to the length of your required tasks. You must take necessary time for meditation, for sleep, for food, for enjoyment of human love and friendship; and even then there will be time enough left for your necessary duties. . . . ‘He/she who believeth shall not make haste.’

It’s that last sentence that really gets me: “He/she who believeth shall not make haste.”

I don’t read these words as absolute command, but rather as principle. In fact, sometimes hurrying cannot be avoided, due to a firm deadline. But I think it’s possible for us to hurry on the outside while being unhurried on the inside. It’s more a frame of mind we’re striving for. Regardless how much chaos exists in my external circumstances, am I still calmly centered within my soul?

In recent weeks, each time I find myself anxious about “too much to do, not enough time,” I stop and say, “Jeff, there’s just enough time left.” And each time I confess that, I discover it to be true — just like Elisha’s disciples in today’s Bible story.

Thought for the day: Whether we’re talking about food, or time, or money, or whatever, despite all appearances to the contrary, there is enough! So relax and act like it!

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Mark Shoup):

We’ve all heard it before. When a man is driving somewhere, and finds himself lost, he will often stubbornly refuse to stop and ask for directions. Well, as a man myself, I can tell you that not only is that very true, but we will often continue going in the wrong direction for far too long because we believe if we go just a bit farther, things will start to look familiar again and we will know where we are. This is seldom true, though, and all we accomplish is getting farther off track before we inevitably must admit defeat and make the humbling u–turn and back track until we again get to familiar territory.

U-turns, while legal in the great state of Indiana unless otherwise posted, are nonetheless a humbling admission of one’s failure to get it right the first time. U-turns in the way one lives their life usually require the humbleness to come first. This was beautifully modeled by king Josiah in our reading today.

I don’t know how they managed to lose “The Book of the Law” in the first place. Maybe they had one too many Jerusalem temple pot luck dinners and put it under the leg of a wobbly table, I don’t know. But however it happened, when it was again recovered and The Law was read to Josiah, he acted with great humbleness and contrition. He performed a “spiritual u-turn” and began trying to follow The Law with all his heart. As the prophetess Huldah told him (and please don’t miss that this was a FEMALE prophet speaking the will of God), Josiah’s humbleness and contrition would ultimately save his life, or at least spare him from the impending disaster.

I think God shows great compassion for our authentic humbleness and eagerness to change our ways when we realize a life u-turn is needed. This is not the same as the attitude of “I’ll just recant on my death bed”, but rather the humble realization we have been living or doing something wrong in our lives, and the immediate regret and desire to make it right. God seems to recognize the genuine nature of this.

I almost titled today’s entry Humbling Oneself Before God. I really believe that praying to God with authentic humbleness and contrition really goes a long way in helping us to hear God’s voice. If you are confused or in doubt, try this:

For a week or two, spend 15 minutes of quiet time a day kneeling with your head on the floor in front of you, or as close to that humbling position as your body will allow. Spend that 15 minutes in prayer, but don’t ask God for anything you want or think you need. Rather, confess the sins you can remember and ask for forgiveness, and then spend the rest of the time expressing your love to God and thanking God for all that God has done for you.

If your experience is anything like mine, when you are done, you will feel blessed, with a closeness to God that you may not have felt in a long time.

Thought for the day: Remember, with God, u-turns are not only legal, they are encouraged!

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Carla Peck):

In today’s scripture, Gehazi fabricates a lie and after Naaman is out of Elisha’s sight, puts the lie into action. Gehazi tells Naaman that Elisha sent him to ask for silver and clothing, which Elisha had actually refused to accept.

Was Gehazi’s intent to tell the lie for the benefit of Elisha, to get custody of payment that Gehazi believed was due to Elisha in exchange for the healing of leprosy? Or, instead, would Gehazi choose to use the situation to make a profit for himself? Naaman was willing to pay for what he had received and was so grateful he gave Gehazi more than he requested. Instead of turning the silver and clothing over to Elisha, Gehazi hides these items and keeps them for himself. Elisha confronts Gehazi about his lie, Gehazi denies the lie, and then Elisha inflicts Gehazi with the leprosy that had once been Naaman’s.

A prank that I pulled in my youth still haunts me to this day. It was the day of the Indy 500 race and I was standing in the parking lot of a nearby retail shop speaking with a friend. Suddenly a car pulled up and the driver asked us how much it cost to park in this lot. In that instance, the mischievous part of me overruled the righteous part and I said, “Twenty dollars.” The person handed me a $20 bill without blinking an eye, no questions asked. The mischievous part of me thought, “That was easy, I should have said $30.” Then the physical symptoms of nausea and nervousness began because of the shame I felt and the fear of getting caught. While I was not inflicted with leprosy, in exchange for $20, I received a heavy heart and regret. A life lesson learned.

Where does a pattern of telling lies or behaving deceitfully start, and where does it stop? Does it matter if we tell a lie for the benefit of ourselves? Does it make a difference if we tell a lie, or behave deceitfully, for the benefit of another? Gehazi apparently got to keep the silver and clothes he had requested, but he also received more than he bargained for. He exchanged good physical health for the deadly disease of leprosy. He exchanged a future working for the prophet of God for no future at all.

Thought for the day: God, I know that I am responsible for my actions. Whenever I feel the need to lie or behave deceitfully, for whatever reason, I pray that I will pause to consider the path that Jesus would choose for me. Amen.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (E’sha Cooper):

Whether we realize it or not, we are being trained everyday by the world to have certain expectations. You put a quarter in the bubble gum machine, what can you expect? A quarter piece of gum, no more, no less. You put $10 worth of gas in your car, you get the distance that the $10 will take you, no more, no less. And this happens to us all day, everyday, in just about every situation we encounter.

And so, with this tremendous amount of conditioning to the world’s way, it may cause us to think about and approach God in the same way. However, I believe God wants us to see why we can raise our level of expectation.

Here is our woman in today’s story. She has just lost her husband and the bill collectors are demanding payment of her debts. She probably expected that, because we all know that if you don’t pay your bills you can be sued. She went to the man of God and asked for his help and he listened and gave her some advice. She probably expected that, too, since he was the man of God and that was his job. As she followed the prophet’s advice, the widow probably expected that she would get just enough to pay the creditor, which was what she had asked for.

Now here is where things fall out of the line of normal expectations. She probably figured she’d have just enough to pay to keep her children, because that is what she really wanted. No more, no less. But God is different. God doesn’t just give you what you want, or even what you ask for; God gives you what you need. You can expect different.

So I encourage you today to expect more. If you need a job, expect God to give you a career that provides what you need. If you need shelter, expect God to give you a house with enough space for you to bless others with shelter, too. If you need money, expect God to give you enough to pay your bills and five other people’s bills as well. Expect more.

Thought for the day: Today I am expecting more than the bare minimum — I trust that God will give me what I need.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Steve Adams):

Author’s note: I have to be honest! I’m often not very good at giving or receiving correction, the subject of this devotional. However, I hope my struggles with it produce some insights that will benefit you.

What if Elijah hadn’t corrected Ahab? Ahab wouldn’t have had a chance to learn the truth, and neither would the people of Israel. In this case, the confrontation was an answer to the false accusation that Elijah was the cause of Israel’s drought. But what about confrontation in our everyday lives — not with our adversaries — but with people that we live with, work with, and go to church with?

Like many things in life, confrontation can be either life-giving, or it can destroy. It can help someone return to God when they’ve been astray, and become closer to others. Or it can break up friendships and shame the hearer into believing they’re not good enough for God or others to love them. The book of James vividly describes how hard it is to control what we say (especially when we’re frustrated or angry, I might add). Correction can get ugly, but it doesn’t have to. Galatians 6:1 says, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness (as Galatians 5:22 says, gentleness is a fruit of the spirit).

I see healthy confrontation and correction as being an integrated part of a loving life. We get used to saying what needs to be said about small issues, so we avoid blowing up in anger when the unaddressed small things become monsters. The most important element is that both parties fully realize “I care about you, and I respect you — and so does God!” I’ve also learned that praying to God for the person you need to confront — praying for every word exchanged between the two of you, for every thought during the conversation — works miracles. With that as your foundation, I believe you will sense if the time is right to initiate the conversation. Prayer opens the door up to creative confrontation! For example, if it’s a beautiful day outside, how about sitting on the porch or in the garden to have your talk? God is infinitely creative and can give us fresh ideas on how to approach it.

Scripture is useful for teaching, reproof, and correction, so that we will be proficient, equipped for every good work. I think of it as getting us back in alignment with the truth when we’ve gone astray. Truth is rare, though, and not easily attained — and sustained — in our lives. Think for a moment, how many wrong roads you’ve taken in your life that you thought were “it!” Wisdom, which I think of as truth for the situation at hand, cries aloud in the street — she raises her voice in the public squares, as Proverbs says — but who hears her?

We need to be prepared to accept correction as well as give it. And if my friend, coworker, child, or spouse confronts me too harshly, then it’s time for forgiveness. Nobody’s perfect! I need to forgive others as Christ forgave me.

Thought for the day: Do we always have to say something in order to correct someone? As the old saying goes, “The best sermon is a life well-lived!” Maybe today I need to concentrate on being a good example, and let the rest take care of itself!

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.