Stopping Short of All

2 Kings 10:31
“But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.”

Jehu was a man whom God used to fulfill His Word concerning the house of Ahab. When you look at some of the characteristics of Jehu, you will find many good qualities that should be emulated by every believer. He was zealous for the LORD. What he did, he did it with zeal. He followed through on what the LORD taught, but though these characteristics were a part of his life, he still stopped short of all that the LORD wanted him to do.

The verse above says about Jehu, “But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam…” The sin of Jeroboam were the two calves he built for Israel to worship in Bethel and Dan. Though Jehu destroyed all the prophets of Baal, he didn’t destroy the golden calves which were just as wicked as Baal. As much as Jehu did for the LORD, he still displeased the LORD because he stopped short of all.

Many believers have done the same as Jehu in that they stopped short of all. They do right with most of their life, but they still stop short of all. They follow through with most of God’s will for their life, but they stop short of all. It is important for every believer to understand that stopping short of all that the LORD wants you to do is just as bad as not doing any of what the LORD wants you to do. Because Jehu stopped short of all, it also affected his walk with the LORD. Let me share a few thoughts with you about stopping short of all.

First, doing mostly right is still doing everything wrong. You can’t do mostly right and still do right. Almost doing everything is still not obeying the LORD. You can’t look at all that you have done to justify what you haven’t done for the LORD. God expects complete obedience. Ananias and Sapphira almost obeyed all that God wanted them to give only to have their partial gift to be rejected. Saul almost did all that the LORD commanded him to do only to find God to reject him from being king. You can look at all that you have done and justify the little bit you haven’t done, but God still expects you to do all that He has commanded you to do.

Second, stopping short of all affects every area of your life. Once you are satisfied with stopping short of all, you will begin to see your effort in other areas will be incomplete. My friend, you will quickly become a believer who gives partial effort to the LORD if you are okay with stopping short of all. Your mindset concerning doing all always affects the effort you put into your service to the LORD.

Third, stopping short of all is a rejection of God’s Word. You are setting yourself up as god when you determine that what you didn’t do doesn’t really matter. If what you didn’t do doesn’t matter to God, why then did He place it in the Scriptures? Every word of God is to be obeyed. You are in essence denying the importance of all of God’s Word when you are okay with stopping short of all.

Finally, stopping short of all affects your walk with the LORD. Your faithfulness to spending time with God is affected by your desire to do all that the LORD wants you to do. Don’t settle for less than all that God tells you to do. Whatever God’s Word says, and whatever His will is for your life, don’t be satisfied until you have obeyed all that He has told you to do.

Author: Allen Domelle