Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two. Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. 2 Kings 2:12-14
“It is not wrong to depend upon Elijah as long as God gives him to you, but remember the time will come when he will have to go; when he stands no more to you as your guide and leader, because God does not intend he should. You say – “I cannot go on without Elijah.” God says you must.
Alone at your Jordan – Jordan is the type of separation where there is no fellowship with anyone else, and where no one can take the responsibility for you. You have to put to the test now what you learned when you were with your Elijah. You have been to Jordan over and over again with Elijah, but now you are up against it alone. It is no use saying you cannot go; this experience has come, and you must go. If you want to know whether God is the God you have faith to believe Him to be, then go through your Jordan alone.”
Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest reading for 11 August.
Sometimes God gives us people in our lives for a season to mentor and guide us, to coach and counsel us. And sometimes he removes them.
I’m on a short trip to the Midwest, meeting with a foundation and some GTP supporters in Michigan and Illinois this week. One person I will meet with today is Rob Martin. If I am Elisha, He’s been like an Elijah to me helping launch GTP. Of course his wife Bev, and my wife, Jenni, have been a huge help too. More recently Rob stepped down from the board as he is getting up in years, but I want to spend some quality time with him.
Perhaps you can relate? So, what do we do, if we want to follow in the footsteps of people in our lives who remind us of Elijah. The answer is to learn what we can from them and then boldly go through our Jordan alone with confidence that the God who was with them will be with us too.
Let us give thanks for such people as our generous God gives them to us, and when He removes them from our lives, we follow the example they set for us and serve generously.