Leave It Buried

via TJC

“Elisha died and was buried. Now Moabite raiders use to enter the country every spring. Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.” ~2 Kings 13:20-21 NIV

Wait, What?!?! That was my reaction when I read this the first time. Being a Christian and Kingdom Man, means being willing to take an honest assessment of what we believe and sometimes conclude, “yep, that’s weird.” My reaction led me to ask, why is this even in the Bible. It seems like such a random throw away passage. There is nothing else said about this man, he isn’t even given a name. The men that threw him into the tomb don’t have names either. The only name we get in the episode is Elisha. We learn a lot about Elisha in the books of 1 & 2 Kings. At this moment we learn that even those parts of us that are dead and buried still have power when we’ve lived righteously and leave a legacy worthy of the race.

We all have something that we have allowed to die and be buried. In TJC we call this Pruning. This is not some deep dark sin that we cut out. Pruning involves submitting to the Father as He removes something that may have been life-giving in one season, so that we can grow stronger and produce more fruit in this season. Recently, I had an opportunity to serve in a different ministry in my church. Long story short, I felt drawn away from where I currently was (even though I saw fruit there) because I had a strong desire to serve with my wife and we couldn’t do that effectively where I was.

When I stepped away, I felt like the team was cut out of my life and buried. It was hard. I questioned whether I did the right thing (I knew I did for my wife and me, but I still felt responsible to the team). But others, touched what we had built, and people who I wouldn’t have expected to step up to lead, came alive. Not only was it the right decision for me and my wife and our ministry together, but it was the spark that launched someone else’s ministry journey too. God pruned and it bore much fruit.

Daily Battle Order:

Kingdom Man, do you feel like you have been pruned and something buried, but you have some concerns or even regrets. Share it with a brother. Pray about it together and Leave it Buried. Someone is going to touch those bones and come alive for Christ!