How Many Times Will You Strike?

When Obedience, Passion, and Perseverance Collide

Have you ever felt like you were doing the right things but still coming up short in the outcome? Like you obeyed… but only to a point? There’s a story in 2 Kings 13 that captured my attention recently and hasn’t let go. It’s about arrows, a dying prophet, and a king who stopped too soon.

Elisha was on his deathbed when King Joash of Israel came to him for help. The prophet gave him a strange assignment: take some arrows, shoot one out the window, and then strike the ground with the rest. Joash obeyed—sort of. He shot the arrow, then struck the ground three times… and stopped.

Elisha was furious. “You should have struck five or six times! Then you would have struck Aram until you had completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.” (2 Kings 13:19)

I can’t stop thinking about that. Because how often do we do the same? We start strong. We step out in faith. We do what God says… but then, when it gets hard or unclear, we stop. We hold back. We lose momentum. And sometimes, without realizing it, we limit what God wanted to do through us.

God opens the door—He sets the stage. But it’s our participation, our persistence, our passion that determines how far the victory goes. It’s not about striving or performing, but about trusting Him enough to keep going until He says stop.

Paul says it so beautifully in Ephesians: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) God already prepared the path. But we have to walk it—and keep walking it.

And what about those moments when you’re just tired? You’ve prayed, you’ve served, you’ve believed. But the breakthrough hasn’t come. Maybe you’re on strike three and wondering if it even matters anymore.

Don’t stop. Not yet. Maybe strike four is coming. Maybe the victory is right around the corner. Let’s not miss it.

“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” (Galatians 6:9)

The king’s half-hearted response exposed a half-hearted desire. That one hits me too. Because passion matters. God is looking for people who pursue Him with everything—who believe His promises enough to go after them like they’re worth everything.

“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

So let me ask you—

Have you stopped short anywhere? Have you been coasting in an area where you once struck with passion? Where might God be inviting you to pick up those arrows again and go all in?

Don’t just ask yourself—go ask God. Invite Him into that space. Let Him show you where to strike again. And then, act on it.

Let’s be the kind of women who keep striking the ground—not in fear or duty, but in faith. Until He says, “That’s enough. Victory is yours.”

What about you? How many times will you strike?