What is Man That You are Mindful of Him?

Living is about finding Jesus in the midst of our lives – being complete in Him, fulfilled through Him, and enabled by Him. Ironically, the spiritual dimension underpinning the foundation of our existence has been abandoned by human civilization in preference to what sin and carnality can provide. The completion and fulfillment once experienced by man in dependency upon His God, has been lost. All that now resides of our former selves is the longing to be more than we are. This longing is the yearning burning within each person that either propels them to human achievement, to dream dreams of the grandeur of man, or to sink to despair in the sea of disappointment. All human accomplishment is limited to that which human ingenuity can produce. Redemption from what we are and restoration to what we once were is not within the purview of our ability.

The question set before us now is, “Will we seek to define life in accordance to the flesh or in accordance with the Spirit?” How each one of us answers this question will form a relational bond with our purpose for living that will companion with us on life’s journey. Choice by choice, we will move toward meeting our eternal destiny forged by having authentically received Christ or not.

“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” (Rom. 8:5-8 NIV)

Joshua admonished the children of Israel:

“Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Josh. 24:14–15 ESV)

We fall into a trap if we believe a person, position, or possession other than Jesus can complete our lives. In our daily struggles we search for ways to stimulate our emotions or sedate our emotions in order to feel good. But that which makes me feel good enslaves me. The end result is bondage. What a cunning ploy Satan has devised! “This is what you need to feel good about yourself,” he asserts as he lays the net to ensnare you. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Prov. 14:12; 16:25 NIV). “An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him” (Prov. 5:22 NLT). These strongholds are fortifications that keep us imprisoned.

Every person possesses within his or her heart a completion scenario that delimits what would produce the ultimate fulfillment and satisfaction. This experience would represent the greatest encounter in life. Beyond this, nothing could be better. Our completion scenario is created out of a synthesis of our orientation to God, what we value, and what we think and feel. This completion scenario motivates desire and gives direction to our behavioral pursuits that are reinforced through immediate gratification. It is here within our very own version of our completion scenario that we seek to be validated by our God substitutes.

The generations of those who have sought salvation in Jesus Christ have been eclipsed by the shadow of the hordes who have rejected Him. Jesus grieved as He admonished, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matt. 7:13–14 ESV).

Jesus asserted, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 ESV).

Within our lives we each possess a sacred “God place”—that place designed by God for God. Only He has the right to occupy this position in our lives. From this God place He rules over our souls and replenishes our hearts with His validating love, while establishing our identity. When any other entity occupies this place, we are guilty of idolatry. The Old Testament is replete with warnings and consequences that result when idols invade the lives of God’s chosen people. Although we may dismiss these passages because they are often connected with the pagan gods of Baal or Asherah, these admonitions also apply to modern life where we continuously allow other entities to fill our God place and dictate our lives. Any substitution for God we permit to establish our identity, love, significance, or security is an idol. These counterfeits break the heart of God. He aches as He watches our foolish endeavors to find completion in our lives through empty alternatives.

What then is man that God is mindful of him, that He would alter the course of the world so that you could deviate from your fallen path to find Him amid the ruins of your life? You are in truth the object of His love!

Insight Journal
How do I live in contradiction to my faith by professing love for Jesus that I do not practice in life?

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

It's Too Hard

When God calls, how do you answer?

Are we really, fully available, or are we only comfortably available?

Remember Moses response to God when he was asked to be God’s spokesman?

...God called to him from the midst of the [burning] bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”

And he said, “Here I am.” (Ex. 3:4 NKJV)

Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” (Ex. 3:10 NKJV)

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

So He said, “I will certainly be with you....”

Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction... to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’ (Ex. 3:11–17 NKJV)

Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’ ” (Ex. 4:1 NKJV)

Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

So the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”

But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.” (Ex. 4:10–13 NKJV)

...I will be with your mouth and with his [Aaron] mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. (Ex. 4:15 NKJV)

People complain that it is just too hard to do what God is asking. When we protest, “It’s too hard,” we are actually stating that God is not keeping His promise to enable us. Even in Old Testament times, the people protested that God’s ways were too difficult, and so they attempted to adjust His standards of holiness. This was God’s response:

“But you dishonor my name with your actions. By bringing contemptible food, you are saying it’s all right to defile the Lord’s table. You say, ‘It’s too hard to serve the LORD,’ and you turn up your noses at my commands,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “Think of it! Animals that are stolen and crippled and sick are being presented as offerings! Should I accept from you such offerings as these?” asks the LORD . . . “For I am a great king,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “and my name is feared among the nations!” (Mal. 1:12–14 NLT)

So how is it that we manage to believe we do not have to give God our best? Why are we convinced that He is asking something of us that is too difficult? When will we choose to believe God’s truth instead of falling for Satan’s deceptions? Moses was whining too. “And the LORD told Moses, ‘When you arrive back in Egypt, go to Pharaoh and perform all the miracles I have empowered you to do’” (Ex. 4:21 NLT). In the midst of all our weakness we can rest assured that God will empower us to accomplish what He desires of us.

Satan has perverted the concept of submission, similarly to the concept of dependency, so we believe it is something to be avoided. Through submission we yield our hearts to God’s will and our wills to God’s heart. This surrender creates a reciprocal harmony of fellowship between God and us. Together we walk step by step with the heartbeat of God. We do not have to come up with our own plans or follow our own processes; we can compliantly follow His way. This submission establishes the path of restoration to love, joy, and peace, and produces grateful obedience.

Obedience is the place where divine enablement meets with personal empowerment. Our desires are not merely to rigidly do what God wants us to do, but to fervently seek to know and pursue His will. Our motivation for living is to connect to God in a vibrant relationship where we are studying His Word and communing in prayer and following His design. This yearning for prayer and assimilating the Scriptures is for the purpose of understanding His heart and applying His principles to every aspect of our lives, realizing that His designs are perfect. It is our responsibility to allow God’s Word to infiltrate the void created when we yielded our independence to God. We bow before God, willing to be governed by His sovereignty.

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

Insight Journal
Prayerfully discern: What lies am I believing that keep me from an intimate relationship with Christ?

Christ Is Relevant to Painting

It has been a LONG summer! In some ways too long. In other ways not long enough. Last fall we primed ourselves for some major home remodeling. One project has led to another, and in May Kirk suggested that we paint our downstairs. It must be noted from the outset, that I do not delight in painting! I do it, but I am not like my friend, Tricia, who joyfully tells me each year how much she is looking forward to her vacation time so that she can repaint all the rooms in her home, and she says it with an expansive smile and means it too!! Several other things are important for you to know. The downstairs used to be our garage, and it had been reallocated to our den/guestroom/crafting area. The walls were covered with unfinished barn siding, and cabinets and bookshelves were stained to achieve a rustic look that coordinated with our wood-burning stove.

Translating, “Let’s paint downstairs” means relocating my entire stash of crafting supplies throughout the house and dismantling all the shelves to be able to access the walls in order to paint them. It also means that everything that had a wood look would be painted either yellow or white. Yep, I said yellow – bright, June Day yellow. That was Kirk’s choice! I like happy colors, so I wasn’t going to argue about him straying from his normally dull, excuse me, muted pallet to embrace the warmth of June Day, but I did question him, repeatedly! Okay, deep breath, we can do this.

I knew it would be a grueling task, but I truly had no idea of the path ahead of us! After long conversations with our friendly Sherwin Williams paint consultants, we purchased many gallons of primer and paint and bravely (actually it was timidly) embarked on the adventure.

Did I happen to mention that as we were working on the downstairs, a contractor was also installing a new entryway to replace the rotting door ensemble? Really the reason for this portion of the remodel was to prevent downpours from flooding our basement. We hoped that in a few short days our front entrance would be reinstated and a new driveway installed to divert the water from the house. The driveway was torn out, and construction commenced in full force.

After Kirk spent hours sanding the cabinets, and shelves, I struggled with the painting process. I grumbled and complained that it didn’t look good and I couldn’t achieve the desired results. Another consultation with Sherwin Williams left them shaking their heads and saying they couldn’t make it work either. Really? Yep, I’ve said that word a lot this summer! So Kirk sanded some more to remove what I labored so many hours to accomplish. I was filled with grumbling and complaining.

Our kids constantly remind us to “Google it” to find solutions, so I took my problem to Google. The bloggers recommended Benjamin Moore paint undercoated with a special primer. I purchased Benjamin Moore paint and the special primer and conducted various sample tests on a cabinet door. The results were superior, but I was still nervous. Ultimately we settled on that particular paint without fully considering how a dry time of 16 hours between coats would actually impact our lives. Would you like to do the math to determine how many days it takes to prime and put at least 2 coats of paint on each side of 48 cabinet doors and drawers, 41 shelves, and all the cabinet bases in a limited indoor space? (I tried it outside, but the birds bombarded my first attempts, and the 90-100 degree heat and rain caused additional complications.) I’ll give you a hint – the answer is TOO long!

“Lord, how are you relevant to this?” In the midst of my grumbling and complaining He gently called me to spend my painting time with Him. God wanted to transform my painting time into an extended, focused prayer time alone with Him. Pray for THAT long? As my painting days drew into weeks, I found myself eager to begin my painting downstairs so that I could have those hours with Him. I blared my playlist of Desperate Dependency related music as He reminded me of His presence and reassured me of His plans for our lives. He set me aside to bring my clients, my burdens, and my dreams before Him and to listen for His tender words of direction.

Many days Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling devotional echoed relevant truths such as:
      •“Self-pity is a slimy, bottomless pit.”
      •“Rest in My presence.”
      •“Find freedom though seeking to please Me above all else.”
      •“Bring Me the sacrifice of your time.”
      •“Hold My hand, and walk joyously with Me through this day.”
      •“When things seem to be going all wrong, stop and affirm your trust in Me.”
      •“I speak to you continually. My nature is to communicate, though not always in words....You can find Me in each moment, when you have eyes that see and ears that hear.”

In regards to painting, the summer has been too long. But in regards to my time with the Lord, it has not been long enough. I think I should go prayer paint some more while I still wait for our new driveway and decide how to finish the entryway!


Insight Journal
How do you find Christ relevant to your everyday, nitty-gritty tasks?

Christ Is Relevant to Aliens

It’s that time of year again – back to school time. The challenges that lie ahead of our kids are honestly incomprehensible. We may believe that we have been there before and understand completely how to navigate the turbulent waters, but in actuality, they are sailing through uncharted territory. Thankfully, God offers timeless truths that apply to current day situations, so that He can help us guide our children to honor and glorify Him in all they do. As parents it is our responsibility to raise them to this goal, not simply to coddle them or supply their material needs as they age. Depending on God’s guidance is a parental characteristic that we must demonstrate to our children so that they may find Him relevant to every area of their lives.

The peer pressure that draws our kids into the hive mind resonates with the adage that “resistance is futile.” The following is a question from a young friend:

I have a question or something to tell you, which ever u rather. All of my friends or at least almost all of them have a cell phone..(big surprise) but I don't.. well that doesn't bother me too much but it does a little because everyone is all like"Ooh want to see my this or my that?" or "Oh ya we txt each other all the time" or "YOU REALLY NEED TO GET A PHONE!" well, it seems like almost everyone of my friends only want to talk to me either in person or by txt, if I can't txt then they don't want my #. It hurts me a little cause its like, everyone else is closer to each other cause they text the other person all the time and like they know every bit about that person.. And I know like nothing cause I can't txt them. what do I do??

Her scenario reminded me of my [Melanie] horrible 7th grade year. When I was in 7th grade I had a terrible time fitting in. The girls in my class berated me because I did not wear Wrangler jeans. I begged and pleaded, and finally was able to purchase my very own pair of Wrangler jeans. The day I walked the halls of school wearing my Wrangler jeans, I believed that I would finally fit in. I was certain I was doing exactly what was expected of me. But, nope, my efforts still did not win the acceptance of the group – they weren’t the right kind of Wrangler jeans! It was at that point I decided that I was going to be who God had for me to be, and if others didn't like it, they didn't have to look.

The reality is that as Christians we are considered aliens to this world! As aliens Peter tells us how to live. “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11 NASB).

Our life’s goal should be to glorify God in all we do. As we seek to know God and His ways more and more, we will better know what He has for us to do. We may not understand how everything fits together all the time, but we can know that God placed us into our unique situation because He has unique plans for us. We don't have to be like everyone else, or know what everyone else is doing. We do need to grow to be like Christ and know what He wants for us to do every day. God's plan for you is different than His plan for anyone else. Enjoy being different!

The draw to be a part of a larger collective is an attribute God has placed within us so that we may desire to be a part of the body of Christ and dependent on Him to set the standards for life and living. Satan works diligently to distract us with time and energy wasters that others consider the essentials of life. But God's got more important things for us to do.

Two other verses kept coming to mind regarding my young friend’s situation.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:1–2 NLT)

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. (1 Corinthians 13:11–12 NLT)

As we live lives that are desperately dependent on Christ, the resulting connection will magnify the Lord. Realizing that our central focus of life is to make Him look wonderful, the dross of the world falls away. Our unified adventure with God supplies purpose and meaning to life. C. S. Lewis wrote, “But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”

Insight Journal
Consider: If I applied these verses to my life, what would I do differently?

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:1–3 NLT).

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

Why Wait?

Somewhere along the Christian journey I [Kirk] synthesized the belief that if I were to walk by faith, I must first do something in the name of faith to offer proof to having faith – a serving of faith to create a saving faith in order to be secure in faith. Unfortunately, such would amount to little more than trying to convince myself that I believed in Jesus. I would seek faith for faith's sake believing that when I had mined enough of this divine gold, I would then be rich in faith and would be a true follower of Christ. The notion of waiting upon God did not seem to be a spiritually approved function of one who was dynamically pursuing Christ. But Biblical faith is more than what you believe. Biblical faith is an understanding that the what serves only to bring you to the who you rely upon.

Waiting upon God is to depend upon Him. Many relegate "walking by faith" to doing those things that are bold or sacrificial in the name of God. However this may be missing the simple truth of waiting upon God. Moses ended up wandering in the wilderness for forty years due to his unwillingness to wait.

Moses' wandering launched immediately upon doing God's work in his own human way, killing the Egyptian soldier. Violation of Egyptian law was not God's plan for Moses and this violent act exposed the achieving of God's will to undue obstacles, all because Moses' impulsive nature was unwilling to wait. The consequences of not waiting takes us places by the force of our choice that we will not want to travel, in Moses' case the wilderness wandering.

Here we need to note that there is a vast difference between the wilderness wandering and the wilderness sojourn of some forty years. Waiting on God is truly a precursor to experiencing the power of God within the human condition fraught with powerlessness. The extent to which we resist God's plan is the extent to which we are disposed to wandering the wilderness path.

We are most uncomfortable with waiting and feel that to wait is akin to doing nothing. Such a perspective places the issue into plain view of the problem. We think we are capable of doing something for God by simply doing what we think seems logical. How far from the point could we be? Do we even know what God wills to accomplish within our time? Do we know what He wishes to achieve within our strength yielded to Him as He empowers us with His Spirit? Do we realize that our spiritual gifts are a reservoir of God's power on earth that is waiting for God's wielding?

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
      neither are your ways my ways,”
            declares the LORD.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
      so are my ways higher than your ways
      and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isa. 55:8–9 NIV)

The wandering was not without divine purpose and caused Moses to come to the limits of his ability that divine enabling could occur. We really do not understand who we are until we are brought to define ourselves by the virtue of our limitations. The conclusions we reach about ourselves while gazing from the summit of our life's powerlessness is truly virtuous, moving us to embrace humility and a desire to wait upon God.

Waiting brings to light who and what we really are as we stand before God. True waiting upon God indicates reliance on Him and resting in Him and a brokenness before Him that signifies a readiness to receive from Him the very essence of what He desires to give. Waiting on God is embraced with a fear of adulterating His heart with our mind, and contaminating His will with our way. So waiting is vital in helping clarify our doing God's work His way over seeking our will in His name. Waiting signifies our having an utter disregard for what self can do and places value on God to lead us.

We stand ready to do God's will as He provides us the power to accomplish His good pleasure. Waiting is characterized by a seeking disposition whereby we engage Christ relationally in prayer, through the Scriptures, and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Here we beseech God to guide us into the full knowledge of His will for the purpose of embracing the good pleasure of His heart, that we would be given wisdom and spiritual understanding so that we would walk worthy of the Lord.

“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God” (Eph. 4:1 NLT).


Insight Journal
What keeps me from waiting on God’s direction in my life? What sins must I confess in light of this admission?

God's Submarine Ride

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

The familiar story of Jonah illustrates the approaches employed to address the deeper problem of the nature of sin. God was seeking to save a people while salvaging a prophet. Resistance and self-sufficiency jumped to the forefront as fear, evidenced by anger, gripped Jonah’s heart at the thought that God would not judge the wicked Ninevites. Jonah’s strategy to resolve the crisis was to ensure that God would destroy the people of Nineveh. Believing he could thwart God’s plan by refusing to participate, Jonah asserted his willfulness to create his own redemptive process. Unwilling to trust God, Jonah allowed his bitterness to fester and employed his own creative solutions.

The command to obey God produced a crisis for Jonah, the messenger of God. The possibility of God being merciful and compassionate to Nineveh pressured him to the point of stress and anxiety. Advancing his way over God’s will, Jonah attempted to resolve the crisis and restore control to himself, prompting Jonah to address his redemptive need with a plan to go in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord.

Prompted by the lie that he could actually live independently, Jonah boarded a ship, hoping to escape from the Lord. Temporary relief came as he slept in the hold of the ship. God disrupted Jonah’s comfort with a storm prepared especially for him. Invested in ignoring God, Jonah also shut out the thrashing of the waves, the pitch and yaw of the ship, and the shifting of the cargo until the captain of the ship demanded Jonah seek his God for a redemptive plan. What irony!

But Jonah sought to resolve the crisis with another self-made plan involving a death wish: “Throw me into the sea” (Jonah 1:12 NLT). In the belly of the great fish (Rosscup calls it a “submarine ride”) God once again offered His redemptive plan. After three days and three nights Jonah was ready to follow God’s truth and acknowledged, “My salvation comes from the LORD alone” (Jonah 2:9 NLT). Submitting to God’s plan, he allowed the power of God to resolve his fears and take over his will.

“Then the LORD spoke to Jonah a second time: . . . This time Jonah obeyed” (Jonah 3:1, 3 NLT). When the people of Nineveh “put a stop to their evil ways” (Jonah 3:10 NLT), Jonah’s greatest fear came true. An additional crisis was produced, and depression followed. Jonah’s submission to God’s will did not include adopting God’s heart. He had no desire to see the people saved who were steeped in perversion and debauchery. Self-sufficiency regained its foothold, and with another death wish Jonah pleaded, “Just kill me now, LORD! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen” (Jonah 4:3 NLT). Invested in his own plan, his depression intensified while he justified his mental illness. “The LORD replied, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about this?’ . . . ‘Yes,’ Jonah retorted, ‘even angry enough to die!’” (Jonah 4:4, 9 NLT). The story ends with God in the process of salvaging Jonah by showing him he has no ability to independently restore control to his life, because God’s plan will prevail.

Despite our best efforts, our plans cannot measure up to God’s design. Our feeble attempts to live independently from God result in disastrous consequences. Perversion propels us to further crisis, although God continues to assert His truth that we must be desperately dependent on Him in every area of our lives. Through Christ’s redemptive process we have a new set of options that can overcome guilt, shame, and fear with an overflow of His love, joy, and peace if we are willing to be desperately dependent.

Insight Journal
Describe a situation in which you used selfish ambition instead of relying on the Spirit’s fruit of gentleness. How would this situation be described differently if you were relying on the Spirit’s fruit of gentleness?

Maniac Driver Questions Peace

After Jehu had been anointed as king of the northern kingdom of Israel, he set about to cleanse the realm of Baal worship. His impetuous enthusiasm gained him the reputation as a maniac driver. “The driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi—he drives like a maniac” (2 Kings 9:20 NIV).

In an interesting snippet of the story, Jehu offers this commentary on counterfeit peace.

2 Kings 9:17–22 (NIV)

      17 When the lookout standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops approaching, he called out, “I see some troops coming.”
      “Get a horseman,” Joram ordered. “Send him to meet them and ask, ‘Do you come in peace?’ ”
      18 The horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’ ”
      “What do you have to do with peace?” Jehu replied. “Fall in behind me.”
      The lookout reported, “The messenger has reached them, but he isn’t coming back.”
      19 So the king sent out a second horseman. When he came to them he said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’ ”
      Jehu replied, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
      20 The lookout reported, “He has reached them, but he isn’t coming back either. The driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi—he drives like a maniac.”
      21 “Hitch up my chariot,” Joram ordered. And when it was hitched up, Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah rode out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. 22 When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?”
      “How can there be peace,” Jehu replied, “as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?”

The NIV Life Application Study Bible (2011) adds this commentary to verses 18 – 19 of the passage

The horsemen met Jehu and asked if he came in peace. But Jehu responded, “What do you have to do with peace?” Peace, properly understood, comes from God. It is not genuine except when rooted in belief in God and love for him. Jehu knew the men represented a disobedient, wicked king…. Lasting peace can come only from knowing God who gives it to us.

Peace is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that supplies security in Christ, who provides all that is needed for life and godliness. It is the evidence of one who is dependent on Christ to provide the ability to cope with the problems, pain, and perplexities of living. In the midst of conflict we can experience the absence of fear, dread, and impending doom as we rest in the presence of His safety, tranquility, and contentment. A continuous relationship with Jesus Christ overflows with peace that comes from entrusting every struggle to Him. There is strength in knowing that while all around us is in flux and failure, Jesus provides a spiritual stability beyond the normal boundaries of this existence. We experience peace in the presence of finding Christ relevant to our situation even when we cannot be in control.

But humanity desires a Christ-less comfort. We choose rather to be at ease by creating an environment where the circumstances and situations favor us.

2 Kings 10:30 – 31 (NIV) adds the LORD’s commentary on Jehu.

The LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.

NIV Life Application Study Bible (2011) offers this character study of Jehu.

Jehu had the basic qualities that could have made him a great success. From a human perspective, in fact, he was a successful king. His family ruled the northern kingdom longer than any other. He was used by God as an instrument of punishment to Ahab’s evil dynasty and he fiercely attacked Baal worship. He came close to being God’s kind of king, but he recklessly went beyond God’s commands and failed to follow through on the obedient actions that began his reign. Within sight of victory, he settled for mediocrity.

Jehu was a man of immediate action but without ultimate purpose. His kingdom moved, but its destination was unclear. He eliminated one form of idolatry, Baal worship, only to uphold another by continuing to worship the golden calves Jeroboam had set up. He could have accomplished much for God if had had been obedient to the One who made him king. Even when he was carrying out God’s directions, Jehu’s style showed he was not fully aware of who was directing him.

As he did with Jehu, God gives each person strengths and abilities that will find their greatest usefulness only under his control. Outside that control, however, they don’t accomplish what they could and often become tools for evil. One way to make sure this does not happen is to tell God of your willingness to be under his control. With his presence in your life, your natural strengths and abilities will be used to their greatest potential for the greatest good.

Jehu’s story is told in 1 Kings 19:16—2 Kings 10:36. He is also mentioned in 2 Kings 15:12; 2 Chronicles 22:7-9; Hosea 1:4, 5.

Insight Journal
How do you try to supply your own peace in your life?

(excerpts included from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)