08/11/2025
Are we ready to step forward in our faith and enter into a new role of servitude? Our inclination as new Christians is to go only so far and then fall dutifully behind a spiritual mentor, allowing them to teach and lead us on from there. However, God would have use step through that spiritual season, move beyond being mentored, 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... so 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 was a member of a three-man intercessory prayer group comprised of elders at my church. I was 65 years old and its youngest member; the other two were in their mid-seventies, and eighties respectively. I was a lot like Elisha. As we prayed each Monday evening I lead in certain prayers, but was the student in others. Jack, the eldest of us was my spiritual mentor and had been for many years, but I knew that one day he would be called home and on that day I would find myself standing on the banks of the Jordan holding his coat. In that moment of heartbreak, and feeling alone, what would my next move be? Would 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 in the presence of God. 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 making it part so that he and Elisha could cross over, and as they did Elisha asked something special of Elijah...
“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, and every parent for their child... that they would 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 special to 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 did?
Elijah gave his coat to Elisha. It was a symbolic gesture... the passing of the baton... a handing off of the Olympic flame... the passing on of the crown. Then Elijah was taken away to heaven. At that moment Elisha truly felt 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. This was when he would realize that God had prepared something special for him.
What will 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 showed us how we should proceed... he turned and called expectantly 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 out 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 it by 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 with deep 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 as his calling 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 through the years will be complete, and will I also know that in my suffering grief I will call on God... just as Elijah had 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 the Lord. 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 to answer in the night "here am I” take heart, but if you are standing on the banks of the Jordan feeling alone and wondering what to do next... call out to God… He is waiting to answer!
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for those who have instructed me in your Word. I thank you for Jack, my spiritual mentor who prepare me for the moment when I became a righteous and mature man who stood ready to call out to you and strike the water with the coat he left me with... feeling the presence of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and your Holy Word.
At that moment of crossing lead me to pray Father, not in grand oration, but in the simple, sincere, and heartfelt language of a child to his Father. Lord Jesus, you taught me to pray and you taught me to employ prayer as I seek the will of the Father; please be with me on that day when I stand at the final crossroads of my faith and urge me on. You have sent the Holy Spirit as my guide, but as I pray in your name give me 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 hand-me-down coat. Hear my voice Father as I cry out for you, hear me say "God of Elijah!", Hear me pray "God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God" as I step forth on dry land and serve you with all I am.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, and Amen!
“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.”
Deuteronomy 10:17 ESV
Rich Forbes