2 Kings 3:9-12 – What is your outlook in life?

Second Kings 3:9-12 describe how Jehoram the king of Israel, with the help of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, proceeded to deal with the rebellious Mesha of Moab. The combined forces made a seven-day journey to the border of Moab only to find that there was no water from the stream. Their lives and that of the cattle they took along in this mission were threatened. They were facing a massive crisis.

Here we see how the godless Jehoram reacted to the situation. What he said betrayed his godlessness. He exclaimed, “Alas! For the Lord has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” His conclusion seemed to suggest that it was the Lord  who had set them up to give them into the hand of Moab. On the other hand, the response of Jehoshaphat, the only godly one among the three, asked a very pertinent question. He inquired if there was any prophet in Israel whom they could consult. Apparently, they were not aware of the ministry of Elisha.

It was here that one of Jehoram’s servants was more in touch than the kings. He made known to them the ministry of the Prophet Elisha, who used to serve Elijah. Immediately Jehoshaphat knew that he was a man of God whom they could seek godly counsel and direction. They decided to consult him, so the three of them went down to him.  

The lesson: A defeatist outlook happens whenever God is not in one’s focus, because He is not the center of one’s life. Like Jehoram, such people will develop a defeatist attitude and easily sink into a sense of hopelessness. Such people can be easily identified by the negative expression they would spew out in a time of crisis. Whereas godly people tend to be more solution minded. Like Jehoshaphat, they do not adopt a defeatist attitude.  Instead of seeing doom, such people's first instinct will be to look for an answer and seek for solution. We need more of the Jehoshaphat’s type of people in times of crisis. They are so because of their connection with God and are aware that their lives are in His hand. What kind of a person would we like to be? If we want to be like the latter type, we must make God the center of our lives. For it is in Him we live and move and have our being!