22. Elisha

Have you ever met a bloke who was so gripped by God he would literally dedicate his life to running after Him? Truth be told, men like this are few and far between. They live by a different code; their values are other-worldly and their faith is pretty full-on.

From the moment that Elisha first met Elijah, we get to see a man who is willing to run after God. He literally abandoned his oxen, ran after his new mentor and then consistently ran after God for the rest of his life. The thing is, all men run after something, and that something becomes the biggest motivation in their lives. Sometimes we run after promotions, more money, better gadgets, faster cars, influence - the list is pretty much endless. But when we see God for who He really is; then we run after Him.

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Idea 1: Elisha left nothing in the tank for the next life I have recently been studying an amazing story in the life of Elisha: you can read it in 2 Kings 13:14-25. Elisha is actually on his deathbed at this point and the King of Israel, Jehoash, comes to him in absolute fear of the Syrian army. Actually, Jehoash is more scared of what life in Israel will be like after Elisha dies. Elisha gives Jehoash instructions to shoot one arrow out of the East Window and then to take the remaining arrows and hit the floor with them repeatedly. Jehoash does both these things, but he gives up hitting the floor after only three times. Elisha goes berserk because he sees that Jehoash has given up and he passes a judgement that says Israel will now not completely defeat the Syrians, but they will be limited to three victories. 

Elisha lived his entire life, giving it all he had, holding nothing back and this is why he got so angry when he saw God’s anointed leader in Israel choosing to give up.

•  How about you? Have you ever been tempted to just give up? Did you take that option?

•  What about God’s calling on your life? When it gets tough, what inspires you to keep going and to never quit?

Idea 2: Elisha never forgot his roots and remained grounded As we have seen from the story above, Elisha was a powerful and influential prophet. He walked amongst kings and rulers, but he very much came from working stock. 

The story of Elisha is littered with stories of touching ordinary people’s lives. This is probably best seen on the occasion that he stayed at a widow’s home. During that stay, he blessed her with limitless oil, a priceless commodity in those days (1 Kings 17:7-16). His heart was for his nation, and he could be seen to weep over their plight and relationship with God.

He was able to achieve this ability to connect with both kings and ordinary folk because his focus was always on God and he did not rely on the opinions of men. This is a lesson that many of us would do well to learn too.

•  Bill Johnson says, “If we live for the praises of men, we will die due to their criticism!” Are you looking for the praise of those around you, or are your eyes firmly fixed on God?

•  If Elisha had not have blessed the widow with oil, her son would almost certainly have been sold into slavery. Are you available to stand up for, and help, those who are weak and vulnerable?

Idea 3: Respect your leaders In the chapter that Carl Beech wrote on Elisha in the 52 Men of the Bible book, he shares the story of the youths mocking Elisha because he was bald. This is a really interesting story because Elisha’s reaction is to call down a curse from God on them that results in 42 of them being mauled to death by two bears.

Without getting into the rights and wrongs of Elisha’s response, there is the question of how we should respect our leaders. Elisha is chosen by God, anointed as a prophet in a very powerful way and the youths (in that culture) should have known better than to mock the man of God.

We live in a culture today, where it is commonplace to criticise the church and those who are leading it. However, as the people of God, we are all called to respect and pray for our leaders and not to criticise them.

•  How have you been viewing your leaders, particularly in your church? Have you maintained a positive attitude toward them? Or have you found yourself criticising them and even gossiping behind their backs?

•  Why not take a moment here to stop and pray for your leaders? Ask God how you might become available to help them lead even better?

Actions

There are two actions that we can work on from the life of Elisha:

•  Make sure that you are salt and light, not sugar-coating the truth.

•  Find new and creative ways to respect your leaders, to honour them as men/women chosen by God.

I have always found that when I pray for my leaders my attitude remains spot-on, positive and healthy toward them. So, take some time right now to pray through both these actions.