Rays of Hope ~ Tim Stockton
To be successful means to have accomplished an aim or purpose and to have been a failure one has omitted, or failed to comply with expectations or a required action. Most of us could take a look into our own life and see things we have been successful at and probably see some of the times we have failed. We know that no one is perfect which truly means we all have failed and been unsuccessful in something. Those who may think they have never failed and are perfect may have just failed a lesson in humility. No matter what comes against us to cause us to stumble and potentially fail we need to learn from those mistakes and not continue in them.
A great lesson can be learned from a former King of Israel named Jehu who was given a task and anointed by God to carry it out and he did while all along he continued to do things that were out of the will of God. At that time in history the people of Israel had heard about and knew the commandments of God that were given to Moses for the people. These commandments were and are “requirements” that are not to be taken lightly.
The first two are to “have no other gods before me and not to make idols.” The reason Jehu had been anointed to be king was to rid the nation of Israel from the pagan worship of Baal who was supposed to be a “fertility god” as well as the god of rain and storms. When Jehu was given the instruction he was very successful in carrying out the task given him. However, one can read more into the life of Jehu and realize that just because he was successful in this one part of his life he was still holding on to something that was just as bad as the thing he was eradicating from Israel. As well as taking things into his own hands and doing what he thought was best verses asking God to direct his path.
Israel also was a divided kingdom at this time and to have sought the true God Israel would have to seek repentance and forgiveness from the southern part of the kingdom they still were at war with. How does any of this apply to us today over a thousand years later? Just take a look deep within your own life. Look at the things you have been successful in. As bad as you may want to reflect on the failures in your life, see how they may have impacted you. Are you better or bitter because of them? Once a person comes to faith in the God of Israel we too have to honor those commandments, but all too often when we look hard enough we too may have idols that we are holding onto.
Continuing to hold onto things that we need set free from will lead to ultimate consequences to ourselves and even possibly to our future generations as in the case of Jehu. Don’t allow bitterness, unforgiveness, and wanting to fulfill your own will lead you in the path of becoming a successful failure.
8/133/23 TRS
Rays of Hope 