Right Beside Me

Elisha had served Elijah faithfully. He went everywhere, did anything asked of him, and was really a model of a dutiful and devoted servant. When the time came for Elijah to leave the earth, Elisha appears to have remained calm and composed right up until the end.

2 Kings 2 tells how, throughout the day, Elisha had people come to him, asking if he knew that God would take his master away that day. Each time, he answers simply, “yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.”

Elijah told his faithful servant several times to stay behind, but Elisha, knowing what was about to happen, would not leave his master. He insisted on accompanying him. Finally, the two reached the Jordan river, and as fifty of the “sons of the prophets” looked on, Elijah took his mantle and struck the water, causing it to divide so he and Elisha could walk across.

You are probably familiar with the next part of the narrative, how Elijah asks Elisha what he wants him to do for him before he goes away, and how Elisha asks for a double portion of the Holy Spirit, which had been upon Elijah. Then God sent a chariot of fire and a whirlwind to catch Elijah up into heaven.

We know from Elijah’s response in verse 10 that Elisha knew God had granted his request for a “double portion,” but instead of being thrilled or exultant that God had enabled him to continue his master’s work, he instead was filled with grief.

“And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.” (v.12)

Elisha then took up the mantle which his master had dropped, and walked to the bank of Jordan.

Before I tell you what happened next, take a moment to think about the loneliness Elisha must have been feeling in that moment. Ever since the day he met Elijah, he had spent nearly every moment with him. Elijah had been like a father to him, and in reading through their story, you get the sense that the two of them were as close as family.

Now, Elisha stood there without his friend, mentor, and confidant. He had been given a double measure of the Holy Spirit but had seemingly been left to wield it alone.

Standing there at the bank of the Jordan, Elisha struck the water with the mantle as Elijah had done, and cried out,

“Where is the God of Elijah?”

The waters divided just as they had before, and Elisha’s question had an answer. Where was the God of Elijah? He was there, right by Elisha’s side, just as He always had been.

Just as God gave Elisha those years of mentorship with Elijah, God often places Christian brothers and sisters in our lives to encourage us and to help us grow in Christlikeness.

Even just typing that sentence has brought several names to mind of people God has brought into my life over the years for that very purpose. The influence each of those people have had in my life has been and continues to be invaluable, and I am so thankful that God uses our human craving for fellowship as a means of bringing us together with those who help us grow.

But we must keep our Elijahs in perspective. God never intends a person to take His place as our ultimate source of comfort, joy, and peace. When we look to our Elijah for those things which God alone can give us, we set that person up as an idol in our hearts.

I think Elisha had gotten so used to Elijah’s presence that he forgot to seek God’s presence. When Elijah went away, Elisha was forced to wrestle through his grief (and maybe anger or resentment) and make the choice to seek God, even when left to seek Him alone.

This removing of people we have come to rely upon as a spiritual anchor is part of the process Elisabeth Elliot calls “knocking out the props.”

It’s unsettling, uncomfortable, and downright unpleasant –and yet, God has a good purpose in it.

When our Elijahs are removed —whether through death, absence, or just a change in circumstances— we, too, can feel we have been left alone. Standing by our own Jordan, we, too, may ask where God is.

When forced to face life on our own, we learn that in the end, all that matters is God, who is still where He has always been: right here, by my side.

“Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour” (Isaiah 43:1b-3a)