"The Spirit Of Athaliah"

"And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.  But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. And he was with her hid in the house of the Lord six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land.".  2 Kings 11:1-3

 

Our lives are like a kingdom and our hearts are like a throne.  On every throne there sits a king. Before we come to Christ, our selfish, self-centered flesh occupied the throne of our hearts-- it was the king.  Once we are born again the throne of our hearts should be abdicated and given over to the Lord Jesus Christ to rule and reign and set up His Kingdom in our lives. (Luke 17:21)  But there will always be something viving for the throne of our hearts. 

 

In the story the verses above were taken from, Athaliah wanted to rule on the throne.  When her son the king died, she had all her grandchildren killed in order to take the throne for herself.  There is a spiritual parallel here that we need to watch out for and guard against.  It is this:  there are things that are always fighting against us to try to take the place that only Jesus should occupy in hearts.  I call this the "spirit of Athaliah". 

If you aren't careful anger, hatred, malice, compromise, selfishness, greed, personal agenda, bad habits, complaining, murmuring, bitterness, unforgiveness, depression, fear and so on, will try to remove Jesus from His throne in your heart and govern your life.  This is what the "spirit of Athaliah" is-- anything that tries to "hijack" the throne of your heart and set itself up there illegally.  It will do it through fear, intimidation, manipulation and deceit. 

 

Athaliah had no right to the throne, only a true heir did. She had to be dethroned.  Born-again child of God, nothing has any right to the throne of your heart but the rightful heir-- which is Jesus Christ.  Anything else has to be dethroned so that He can rule and reign.  Just like Athaliah had to be dethroned, removed, and dealt with and Joash placed on the throne, you have to do the same with whatever is trying to take the place of the Lord Jesus, (the King of Kings) on the throne of your heart.

 

Have a great day.  The "spirit of Athaliah" will try to dethrone the One who truly belongs on the throne of your heart.  Keep the rightful Heir there-- the Lord Jesus.

 

For further reading:

1 Kings 11

 

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from 
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to call (601) 833-5278 or
Email : mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org