Follow The Instructions

But the man of God was angry with him. “You should have struck the ground five or six times!” he exclaimed. “Then you would have beaten Aram until they were entirely destroyed.  Now you will be victorious only three times (2 Kings 13:19 NLT)

When Jehoash was told to strike the ground with the arrows, he did it only halfheartedly.  As a result, Elisha told the king that his victory over Aram would not be complete.  How often have you followed the instructions of God but not with your whole heart?  It could be a variety of reasons for noncompliance such as “This does not make sense.” “I am too busy”, “How could God use me in this way?”  Just insert your name and reason; the list could go on and on.  We all have at some point in our Christian work halfheartedly responded to what the Lord has told us to do. 

Receiving the full benefits of God’s plan for your life requires you to receive and obey God’s commands fully.  Notice the two keys words “receive” and “obey”.  There are many people in prayer lines for prophecy but have not done anything with the previous word they had received. We must receive and obey.  If you expect a hundred-fold blessing then you need to have a whole heart full of obedience to God and His will for your life. If we do not follow God’s complete instructions, we should not be surprised that his full benefits and blessings are not present.