Journeying With God

In order to move into all that God has for us, all past successes and failures need to be placed in the wonderful hands of our Heavenly Father and left there, so that we can move forward unhindered.

God chose Elisha to be Elijah’s successor and when the prophet obeyed the Lord and went to find the younger man to anoint him, he found him at work.

That Elisha was willing to put his hand to the plough physically and move forward, was a good indicator that he would do so spiritually, for the work of God requires patience and perseverance (1 Kings 19:16-19). Elijah 'cast his mantle' upon Elisha, thereby indicating the favour of God and anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Much lay ahead for Elisha, and to his credit, his initial response was to ‘run after’ the prophet. Then, after showing the required respect to his parents and saying his goodbyes, he burnt his bridges and moved forward into the things of God, ministering to Elijah. When he said his goodbyes, he released his yesterdays.

Releasing our yesterdays and moving on is never easy, but when you know, that you know, that you know, that God has spoken and given clear indication of the next step, then there’s a decision to be made and followed through.

There were further tests down the line for Elisha, for three times the prophet suggested to Elisha that he should wait, while Elijah moved forward to Bethel, Jericho and Jordan respectively.

But Elisha wouldn’t be put off. Neither was he distracted by the voices of the sons of the prophets – but silenced them. He held fast to Elijah, refusing to leave him, and this led him to the place where God not only allowed him to witness the miracle of the chariot of fire taking Elijah away, but it was also the place where God granted his heart’s desire of the ‘double portion’.

The attaining of the ‘double portion’ wasn’t easy, it was costly, and required Elisha pressing through, despite the temptation of settling in his comfort zone, and the distraction of other voices on each occasion.

Serving the Living God requires a heart of obedience, doing whatever He asks, and as Jesus instructed, we must be willing to leave ‘Father, mother, brother, sister’ for His sake, and count the cost of ‘putting our hand to the plough’ and moving forward out of our comfort zones.

As Elisha found out, these tests are ongoing, but the fruit of entering into what God has for us is well worth the effort, far surpassing the cost, and is pleasing to our Heavenly Father.