08/11/2017
Are you ready to step forward in faith into a new role of servitude? Our inclination is to go only so far and then fall dutifully in behind our spiritual mentors, allowing them to lead us from there. However, God would have use step through that moment and cross into a larger life with Him. This is an inevitable event.
"And Elisha saw it and he cried, "My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces."
2 Kings 2:12 ESV
Elisha had been studying under Elijah all his life, and he turned to him with every spiritual question, but God had just taken Elijah by chariot into heaven... now what would he do? Elisha tore his clothes, took the cloak of Elijah, and went back to the Jordan River. What he did next would define him because this was his crossroads.
I am a member of a three man intercessory prayer group comprised of elders at my church. I am 65 years old and the youngest member; the other two are in their mid-seventies, and eighties respectively. I am a lot like Elisha. As we pray each Monday evening I lead in certain prayers, but am the student in others. Jack, the eldest of us is my spiritual mentor and has been for many years, but I know that one day he will be called home and on that day I will also stand on the banks of the Jordan holding his coat. In that moment of heartbreak, and feeling alone, what will my next move be? Will I know what to do?
Each of us needs to be ready for our Jordan moment; that time when we must step forward in faith, or chose to remain... alone. So what happened in the story of Elijah and Elisha? First Elisha knew that Elijah was going to be taken, but he would not let him face that alone, so he went with him to the Jordan.
"The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, "Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?" And he answered, "Yes, I know it; keep quiet.""
2 Kings 2:5 ESV
Then, Elijah performed one last miracle by striking the water with his coat and parted it so that they could cross over, and as they did...
"When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you." And Elisha said, "Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.""
2 Kings 2:9 ESV
This is the hope of every master for his student, every parent for their child... that they surpass them in life, but Elijah knew that this was a request that God had to say yes to so he said:
"And he said, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.""
2 Kings 2:10 ESV
Elijah wanted this for Elisha but he placed it in God's hands. For each of us there will come a time when we will face being alone with God... in a place where others will turn to us and say "I need a touch from God, pray for me." Will we be prepared for that moment? Will our faith be strong enough and our walk be close enough to God that at that juncture we will be able to pray as Elisha?
Elijah gave his coat to Elisha. It was a symbolic gesture... a passing of the baton... a handing off of the Olympic flame... the passing on of the crown. Then he was taken away to heaven. Now Elisha was truly alone, so he tore his clothes, picked up the coat of Elijah and went back to the banks of the Jordan. This was his moment of truth, this was his crossroads.
What do we do when we stand at our crossroads? We have the coat of those who came before us, but now we must decide what to do next. Elisha shows us how we should proceed... he turned and called on God.
"Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over."
2 Kings 2:14 ESV
God answers our call just as He did for Elisha, but before He can part the water for us we must call to Him. Our prayers are all important. Learning to pray and then employing that prayer, as we trust in God, are two very different things. Elisha could have delivered an eloquent prayer of acceptance in which he culminated in asking God to part the waters, but he didn't. In this moment of heartbreak and uncertainty he struck the water and called out "Where is the Lord?" He called out as each of us should... from his distress... from his heart... in all honesty and emotion.
Elisha received the blessing he had asked Elijah for, and the waters parted. He had stood at his crossroads, called on God, and now the road God had chosen opened before him. Our roads will open before us as well.
I know that there will come a time when my mentor, Jack, will be called home. I know that in that moment I will rend my clothes and mourn, I know that all he has taught me will be complete, and I also know that in that suffering grief I will call on God... just as Elijah taught Elisha, and just as Jack has taught me. You see, our crossroads isn't about going forward or staying put as much as it is about being with, or being without, God. When our time comes to pick up the coat of our predecessor and stand on the shoulders of giants we must be ready to call out to God. Have you already stood at that crossroads? Are you still preparing yourself? Or, are you standing on the banks of the Jordan with a coat in your hand and a prayer stuck in your throat?
If you have crossed the Jordan that is wonderful, if you are still preparing then answer in the night "here am I", and if you are standing on the banks wondering what to do next... call to God!
Prayer:
Father I thank you for those who instruct us in your Word. I thank you for our mentors who prepare us for the moment when we become men and women in your service by calling out to you and striking the water with the coat of our teachers... your Word. Lead us all to prayer Father, not in grand oration, but in the simple, sincere, and heartfelt language of a child to its Father. Lord Jesus you taught us to pray and you taught us to employ prayer as we seek the will of the Father; please be with us on that day when we stand at the crossroads of our faith and urge us on. You have sent the Holy Spirit as our guide, but as we pray in your name give us a double measure of faith. I praise your name Lord and call out to you both night and day, let me not go mute when I face the crossroads in which I stand alone holding nothing but a coat. Hear my voice Father as I cry out for you, hear me "God of Elijah!" Hear me "God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God" who I serve with all I am.
Rich Forbes
Deuteronomy 10:17 ESV