DCLM Daily Manna 14th September 2020 [Monday] – Pick Up Your Battle
Topic: “Pick Up Your Battle” By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi
DCLM Daily Manna Key Verse: 2 Kings 14:10 (NIV)
“You have indeed defeated Edom and now you are arrogant. Glory in your victory, but stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah also?”
DCLM Daily Manna Text: 2 Kings 14:8-16 (NIV)
8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, with the challenge: “Come, let us face each other in battle.”
9 But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle underfoot.
10 You have indeed defeated Edom and now you are arrogant. Glory in your victory, but stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah also?”
11 Amaziah, however, would not listen, so Jehoash king of Israel attacked. He and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth Shemesh in Judah.
12 Judah was routed by Israel, and every man fled to his home.
13 Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash went to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section about four hundred cubits long.
14 He took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the temple of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace. He also took hostages and returned to Samaria.
15 As for the other events of the reign of Jehoash, what he did and his achievements, including his war against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
16 Jehoash rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. And Jeroboam his son succeeded him as king.
DCLM DAILY MANNA FOR TODAY 14TH SEPTEMBER 2020 – PICK YOUR BATTLES
According to the Free Dictionary, to “pick your battle” is an idiom which means choosing not to participate in minor, unimportant or overly difficult arguments, contests or confrontations.
It is to save one’s strength instead, for things of greater importance or where one has a greater chance of success.
This is one truth that King Amaziah did not learn on time. With the help of God, Amaziah had defeated the Edomites and now without any provocation challenged Jehoash, the king of Israel to battle. The king of Israel wisely counselled him to celebrate his success over Edom and be satisfied.
He mortifies his pride, by comparing himself to a cedar, a stately tree and Amaziah to a thistle, a sorry weed. Israel was not comparable to Judah so Amaziah should not court trouble. Jehoash showed him the folly of his challenge.
Amaziah did not listen and as a result, he went to war with Israel. He lost woefully in the end. His army was routed and dispersed; he was captured by the king of Israel who entered Jerusalem and plundered the city, took away all that was valuable and returned to Samaria, laden with spoils.
Like Amaziah, many Christians suffer humiliating defeat from the Jehoashs of the world today because of pride and inability to pick their battles. In life, one of the main choices that we make every day is the choice of obedience.
We can choose to obey God and listen to His commands or choose to disobey and do our own thing. Our choices are ours to make but there are consequences to all our decisions.
Many battles await you as you go about your different activities today. Pick your battles with wisdom because it is not every battle that is worth fighting especially when you know that God is not leading you ahead.
DCLM THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Your choices matter, choose wisely.
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
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