READING: 2 Kings 1-3
I really enjoy investing in the young men God has connected me with over the years. I want them to walk with God much more than I ever did at their age, and I’m privileged to be a part of that process. I don’t mind giving them time, energy, or a listening ear. I don’t even mind giving them dollars if the situation truly warrants it.
What I wonder about, though, is what they would want from me if they could have anything.
That’s the situation Elijah faced with Elisha in today’s reading. Both men knew that Elijah was about the depart this world. Before he left, though, he asked Elisha how he might help him: “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” (2 Kings 2:9). I don’t know for sure how my guys would answer that question, but I wonder if some would ask me to teach them something . . . or to equip them to accomplish something . . . or to share with them some of life’s lessons I’ve learned . . . or to have some of my library . . . or even perhaps to help them pay some debt. I hope they’d just want to spend time with me.
I don’t know if any would ask what Elisha asked from Elijah: “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit” (2 Kings 2:9b). That request might have simply been Elisha’s desire to inherit Elijah’s prophetic authority. It may have been his request to have the spiritual power that Elijah had, to live under the blessing of God like his mentor had. He wanted to be Elijah’s successor, but he knew he needed God’s power to carry out that task. He wanted to be a man of God like Elijah had.
I hope I walk with God, under the power of God, with the blessing of God so evident that the guys who walk with me would want that same presence in their lives. That means I must walk fully under the hand of God today.
ACTION STEPS:
- Honestly evaluate this question: “Do I walk daily in the power of God?”
- If you are a parent or grandparent, determine to show to your offspring the hand of God in your life.
- If you are single, live that way in front of your friends.
PRAYER: “Father, I am grateful that You live in me. Live through me in such a way that others want to walk in my footsteps.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 2 Kings 4-5
