Day Sixty-one

“As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire
and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them,
and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.” (2 Kings 2:11)

Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 2:1–18

If you’ve been a serving believer long, you’ve probably enjoyed the tutelage of an “Elijah.” I certainly have. “Elijahs” are precious gifts from God to nurture us in our spiritual lives. We see them as God’s favored ones. Those we believe have a special “in” with God. They are our heroes. The ones we look up to and call in times of crisis. Their most important role, however, is discipleship—not dependency, and that’s why our “Elijahs” are usually only temporary.

Some of us feel hurt or bitter because we’re not as close to this person as we used to be. We don’t understand what changed. We don’t want to let go of what we had.

Elisha struggled terribly with the changing nature of his relationship with Elijah. His tutor was his strength. He could not imagine serving without Elijah by his side. Elisha was so frightened he was going to lose Elijah that he followed him everywhere. Over and over the young servant echoed, “I will not leave you” (2 Kings 2:2, 4, 6).

I wonder if Elisha really meant, “Promise you won’t leave me!” Sometimes we lack the power to make those promises. Many tried to warn Elisha to prepare for the separation, but he refused to listen. Finally, when forced to hear the truth, Elisha had only one request: “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit” (2 Kings 2:9). He asked the blessing of a firstborn son, and God tenderly granted his request.

No matter how badly Elisha wanted to hang on to Elijah, separation was inevitable. The results reveal why God usually retains our Elijahs only temporarily. Look at Elisha’s response in verse 14: “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”

You see, Elisha had attached the presence of the Lord in his life to the presence of Elijah. Without his mentor, how would he ever find God? He even called God the “God of Elijah.” How would Elisha ever discover that God was his own if Elijah retained his powerfully influential role in the young man’s life?

God isn’t likely to sweep your Elijah up in a whirlwind, but a change in the relationship is virtually inevitable. We don’t give babies crutches. We teach them to walk. When God sees we are ready to walk, often He places some distance between us and the person we’re dependent on. He wants to show us He is our God, too.

Sometimes we must give up our Elijahs, but like Elisha, we get to keep one treasure forever: the cloak they left behind. Everything we learned from them. Each memory. The heritage of their faithfulness. That’s our cloak.

Don’t despise the cloak because it’s all you have left. The cloak was God’s intention all along.