Today's Verse

And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and shot Joram between the shoulders, so that the arrow pierced his heart, and he sank in his chariot. — II Kings 9:24 ESV

Devotion

Jehu was destined to become the king over the northern kingdom of Israel. A young prophet of the Lord had said to him, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, I anoint you king over the people of the LORD, over Israel." (II Kings 9:6) However, there was a problem. There was already a king over Israel from the house of Ahab and Jezebel named Joram. As a consequence, the prophet had to add something to his prophecy: "And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD." (II Kings 9:7-8)

From the Lord's point of view, the house of Ahab and Jezebel was totally corrupt and evil. It had to go. The Lord anointed and assigned Jehu to do the job. In our verse for today, the Bible tells us that Jehu went forth in the power of his anointing "with his full strength." With his full strength he drew his bow and shot Joram. He did not hesitate. He did not hold back. And he went on from there with his full strength to destroy Jezebel and all the rest of Ahab's house, in accordance with the anointing and the assignment the Lord had given to him.

Jehu is not an exception to the rule. The anointing of Jehu is available to every Christian. Although not every Christian is involved in military and governmental endeavors like he was, every Christian is anointed to destroy corruption and evil in the world. In the areas of life to which they've been called to serve by the Lord, there is an anointing on them to resist corruption and evil, to root it out, and to destroy it. Christians are warriors. Christians fight. They go forth, like Jehu, with full strength and do damage to Satan's "domain of darkness." (Colossians 1:13)

Today, go forth with the anointing of Jehu. Don't hesitate or equivocate. Don't give up and quit. Don't let fear and worry keep you from the task at hand. Take inspiration from the story of Jehu. He went forth with his full strength and he finished his assignment.

You do the same.

Created to encourage and strengthen your faith, Verse of the Day and Devotion includes a daily Bible verse and devotion to help you grow through God's Word. We hope you are encouraged by today's Verse of the Day and Devotion.