Thursday 18 March 2010

Much more than this ...

“And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents …? And the man of God answered, The Lord is able to give thee much more than this” (II Chronicles 25:5-13).

King Amaziah had to chose: obey the clear order of the Lord and lose one hundred talents of silver, or keep what he had purchased and disobey God. Amaziah made the right decision, even though it brought him short-term loss: he lost the silver, lost the friendship of his brethren from Ephraim (v. 10), lost various cities, three thousand lives, and “much spoil” (v. 13). What a loss! There is no doubt, however, that God was pleased with his obedience. His infidelity in latter years doesn’t annul the promise of God through the prophet: “The Lord is able to give thee much more than this”.

What would I have done in a similar situation? Would I move to another town to be useful to God, even if it meant a lower wage at the end of the month? Would I do something the Lord told me to do in His word, knowing that my obedience would cost me the friendship of some of my brethren? Would I obey God, whatever the cost?

May God help us to understand that the Lord is able to give us much more than anything we lose for Him. If we suffer loss to do His will, we will be amply rewarded. Maybe not today, maybe not in this life; but through all eternity we will rejoice over the “loss” we suffered here on Earth, remembering how much, much more the Lord gave us!

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