Day 1 Elisha: A Tale of Ridiculous Faith

1 Kings 19:14-21 

14 He said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and slain Your prophets with the sword. And I, I only, am left, and they seek my life, to destroy it.

15 And the Lord said to him, Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.

16 And anoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah to be prophet in your place.

17 And him who escapes from the sword of Hazael Jehu shall slay, and him who escapes the sword of Jehu Elisha shall slay.

18 Yet I will leave Myself 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.

19 So Elijah left there and found Elisha son of Shaphat, whose plowing was being done with twelve yoke of oxen, and he drove the twelfth. Elijah crossed over to him and cast his mantle upon him.

20 He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, Let me kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow you. And he [testing Elisha] said, Go on back. What have I done to you? [Settle it for yourself.]

21 So Elisha went back from him. Then he took a yoke of oxen, slew them, boiled their flesh with the oxen's yoke [as fuel], and gave to the people, and they ate. Then he arose, followed Elijah, and served him. [II Kings 3:11.]

Devotional

Elisha’s story begins in 1 Kings 19:14-21 as God tells Elijah to anoint Elisha as the prophet to replace him. In this passage we read that Elijah finds Elisha plowing in a field with a pair of oxen and immediately throws his mantle on Elisha as an invitation to follow him. Elisha immediately obeys and burns his plow and cooks the oxen and gives it to his friends to eat. Elisha exhibited ridiculous commitment to Elijah. He wasted no time in obeying. He didn’t go away to take time to think about it. He didn’t write out a list of pros and cons. He didn’t play it safe. He immediately said yes to God’s calling through Elijah.
Elisha’s ridiculous commitment shows that the cost of following God is great, but the cost of not following Him is even greater. Furthermore, Elisha’s commitment was complete. He burned his plows, slaughtered his oxen, and left his family’s inheritance behind. He left everything he knew and loved behind. Elisha shows us that to step toward your destiny, you have to step away from your security. Is your commitment to God immediate and complete like Elisha’s? What security might you need to walk away from in order to walk toward your destiny?