Who Will Miss Us?

Day two hundred ninety-two

My prayer this morning was again focused on the needs of others.  There are highs and lows in every life and I am thankful that the Lord puts me in the right place at the right time so that I can be a part of those lives.  May those in need know that I love them, that the Lord loves them, and that He hears our pleas.

2 Kings 13

Today we come to the final study of the life of Elisha.  It is in this chapter that Elisha goes home to be with the Lord.  At this point Elisha has ministered in Israel now for 60yrs – starting from that time that he was Elijah's protégé. His ministry has been marked by the miraculous.  Through Elisha the Lord performed more miracles than anyone in the Old Testament.  In fact, aside from Jesus, the Lord performed more miracles through Elisha than anyone else in the Bible. 

The other thing that has marked Elisha's ministry has been his interaction with the different kings.  That is how it will end as well. In verse 14 we find Elisha sick to the point of death and King Joash distraught, weeping over the thought of losing Elisha. Joash says "Oh my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof." 

If that phrase sounds familiar you are correct.  It is the same phrase that Elisha used when Elijah was taken up in the whirlwind.  Joash is using this phrase because he understands that if Elisha dies, the nation is in real trouble.  The chariot was the strongest weapon of the day and what Joash is saying is, "Elisha, you are our chariot!" 

The army of Israel had been depleted down to fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen (v 7).  In the past Elisha had told Israel what the movements of the enemy were going to be (revealed to him by God), a whole army was prevented by God from capturing him,  another time a whole army was blinded and he led them by the hand to the King, and yet another time the Syrian army was scared off during his ministry and the the city of Samaria was saved from starvation because of it.

Joash looks at Elisha and sees that this man of God has been the only constant good thing for the nation.  Now that Elisha is about to die Joash weeps and you get the feeling that in his head he is thinking, "WE ARE DOOMED!"  Joash has finally learned to appreciate Elisha and to see how important he is to Israel, it's too bad that it took Elisha's impending death to bring it out in him.

There are many lessons we can learn from Elisha's life, but one that really stood out to me was: “May we seek to live in such a way that even ungodly men would miss us when we are gone.” ~Spurgeon

What an awesome thought.  What is it that we can do in our own lives that would emulate the life of Elisha and help us touch the hearts of ungodly men?  Here are three areas that I am working on:

Love the Lord

There is no doubt in the minds of those that have witnessed Elisha's life that he loved the Lord. 

Jesus taught:

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment." (Mark 12:30)

Elisha was a great example of a person who loved the Lord this way.  I found this breakdown in the margins of my scriptures:  heart = commitment; soul = emotions; mind = intellect; strength = talents.  If we were to live our lives this way, dedicating all these things to the Lord, no man could doubt how we feel about the Lord. 

Love Others

Jesus continues his thoughts with,

"...Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:31)

With all that Elisha has done for the people of Israel there is no doubt that he loved them.  He has put himself in harms way for them, he has warned them, and he has blessed them.  We can do the same.  It means stepping out of our comfort zone and taking some risks.  It means being willing to seek the Spirit and following through with the promptings, no matter how strange they might be.  It means not worrying about what other people think and loving those that need it the most.  It means putting others first sometimes.

Perform Everyday Miracles

"There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle." ~Albert Einstein

I think the more you learn to love the Lord and love others you naturally lean towards the,”everything is a miracle” side.  But recognizing and performing are two different things. We are just average, everyday Joe's or Jane's, not prophets of God, what miracles could we possibly perform?  

How about being the person that will pray for others?  or is willing to serve others? or freely forgives others?  Do you see these things as miracles? 

In each of these scenarios you are performing a miracle for someone else.  Your willingness to pray in faith on behalf of someone else is a miracle that they may never even know about, but still reap the blessings.  Your willingness to serve others may mean that you are the miracle that was the answer to their prayers.  And freely forgiving others is part of the miracle of healing a soul.  

We may not stop an army or raise someone from the dead, but we do make a difference in the lives of those around us.  Our actions, whether good or bad, leave a mark on the lives that we touch, even those who are struggling with their relationship with God.  What a difference these miracles could have on the lives of those that we come in contact with!

Elisha was a great example to all who were around him. In fact, he is still being an example to us today, long after he left this earth.  When we ask ourselves, “Who will miss us?” we need to remember Elisha and hope that we will live our lives in such a way that we may always be the good in others lives.