Focus

Prepare yourself to discern what is and what is not of God today. Still yourself so you can hear how God is calling you.

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Read

1 Kings 19:19-21 (NRSV)

So he [Elijah] set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” Then Elijah said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?” He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

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Reflect

Elijah was more than a little discouraged. His conflict with Ahab and Jezebel continued to intensify, and he feared he might soon be killed. Should that happen, who would carry on the prophetic ministry to which God had called him? Seeking safety, Elijah went into hiding.

“Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘What are you doing here?’” (1 Kings 19:11). God told him to leave his retreat and to anoint various leaders who would lead the nations into the future. Further, he was to anoint Elisha to succeed him as prophet. The above reading from First Kings tells what happened when Elijah met Elisha and “threw his mantle over him.”

Elijah must have been reluctant to pass on his ministry to anyone, much less to a plowman such as Elisha. But Elisha was the one God had chosen. Thus Elisha began an apprenticeship as servant to Elijah and in time would become a prophet in his own right.

God calls us to share our lives with others, including whatever leadership we may hold. It is not easy to relinquish power, but we must learn to listen to the voice of God.

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Pray

Lord God, we thank you that people like Elijah and Elisha listened to your voice and served you faithfully. Help us to respond to your call and to share leadership with all whom you call to be your servants. Amen.

Go with God.