"Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.” " (NIV) 2 Kings 13:18-19

If there are any aurae full of much positive contagion, then one of them is the spirit of enthusiasm. God’s word constantly reminds us to hold onto such helpful attribute. We are to brighten up physically and not be down cast. Likewise, we are not to quench the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) by being pessimistic whatsoever.

In the face of turmoil and skirmishes, Joash, king of Israel visited the prophet Elisha for a word of hope from the Lord. After shooting the “arrow of victory” together with Elisha, the King was instructed further to strike the ground. He did that limitedly and carelessly, leading to an angry declaration from the prophet Elisha. The total victory over the Arameans could no more be realized according to the word of the Lord.

God knows all our wins and woes, our faith and fears, and yet admonishes us to be lively in our daily routines and uncommon situations. King Joash could have been an encouragement to the prophet Elisha who really needed it (2 Kings 13:14). And in the absence of enthusiasm, king Joash also could not secure total victory for Israel.

Someone needs our enthusiasm today to make it through the day. Our cheerful mood and friendly attitude today is all that a helpless someone needs to make a crucial decision. And no matter the situation we find ourselves we must work heartily as if to the Lord (Colossians 3:23-24).

Regarding the conversion experience of Paul, some sense of enthusiasm was really be expected as we see in the instruction from the devout man Ananias (Acts 22:16). We need to have similar attitude in all our dealings. The Gospel of Christ requires enthusiasm to respond to it. A partial and passive obedience will only take us to a trifling point instead of a full attainment of promised salvation. The hymnist provides a thoughtful second stanza of a typical enthusiasm for the Lord in O Happy Day:

“‘Tis done this great transaction’s done, I am the Lord’s and He is mine; He drew me, and I followed on, charmed to confess the Lord divine” (Philip Doddridge).

Let enthusiasm be part of your physical and spiritual schedules. It is delightfully rewarding.

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