2 Kings 2:1 NIV
When the Lord was about to take
Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from
Gilgal.
How Do
You Feel About Change?
We
all have benchmarks when monumental changes have altered our lives. My wedding day was one for me. At the hospital discovering for the first
time that Mary Jo and I would have a child was one. The first time I taught in Russia was one. Some were not so pleasant such as the evening
when I was fired from the first church where I was pastor and the day I got a
phone call from my dad that my mom had passed away. The morning I snapped my leg in half skiing
was another benchmark. We try our best
to figure out why certain events happen.
We sometimes wish God would tell us why certain things happen to us..
Perhaps
you have been like me. You have wondered
why you had to go through something painful or traumatic. Maybe it was the death of a loved one close to
you or the loss of a job or even a career.
It could be that you aren’t sure why you had an injury or health
issue. You might be struggling with why
someone doesn’t show you love or how come a person you deeply care about is
facing so many trials. Life is sometimes
like a roaring lion and it is not always reasonable or even rational. What are you to make of the changes you have
in your life? How should you respond to
them and where is God in it all?
In
the middle of the Gospel of John is an interesting story that illustrates the
struggle many have with the wreckage in life.
As Jesus and His disciples were walking through Jerusalem, they came
upon a man who had been blind from birth.
The disciples posed Jesus with the question, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or
his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9: 2 NIV) The assumption was that being born blind was
bad and that someone was to blame for it.
God would not just let such a terrible thing happen if no one was to
blame, they reasoned. Jesus saw matters
differently. “Neither this man nor his parents
sinned, “said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be
displayed in him. As long as it is day,
we must do the works of him who sent me.
Night is coming, when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9: 3-5 NIV)
Many
times people get mad at God for what happens to them. Others turn their back on God when things get
rough because they don’t think He has treated them fairly. The disciples wanted to know who to blame for
the blindness of the beggar they came across.
Jesus did not put blame on anyone, not God, not Satan, not the man or
his parents or even on luck or fate. He
did admit that God was at work and all was not lost for the blind man; in fact
Christ seemed to indicate that this blindness made it possible for God to do
something in particular for the man that could not be done any other way. We all have experienced something like this
if we have lived long enough. A restaurant
was closed but you stumbled upon a café you now love. A boyfriend or girlfriend broke up with you
but then you met the person you eventually married. A bout with depression gave you insight into
deep psychological wounds that you had ignored.
Unemployment led to a new career that fits you better. Jesus insisted that the blindness was not a
curse laid upon the beggar but an opportunity for God to do something for him
that would not have been possible if he had always been able to see.
The
question before you is simple. Do you
really know what to make of your circumstances?
Are you certain of what your next steps in life should be? Jesus said that He is the light of the world. What does that mean? Although there is much that is dark and confusing
now, Jesus can help us make sense of it.
Death is irrational and cruel and sin has broken what once was a perfect
universe. In this darkness there is a
light that shines and cannot be extinguished.
Where pain and sorrow seem to rule the day, it is not so. With Christ we find that love rules the
universe and that evil and death will be conquered by our Lord who died to save
the world from its sin. Yes it is hard
now. Yes we suffer many hardships and
heartaches. But there is a light that
shines in the darkness and Christ will see you through whatever you face and
show you the way.
The
famous account of Elijah and his departure from this world in God’s chariot of
fire ran on two levels…that of Elijah and that of Elisha. For Elisha it was not quite as exotic as for
Elijah. Elijah rode God’s flaming chariot
to heaven. How exciting! Elisha was left to sort out things on earth…life
and death, loss and hardship, loneliness and trouble. The account of the journey Elisha took with
Elijah to the spot where God’s chariot would take Elijah away is fascinating from
a psychological perspective. Try to put
yourself in Elisha’s shoes as he walked with his friend and mentor; knowing
they did not have much time left to be together. When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to
heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the
Lord has sent me to Bethel." But
Elisha said, "As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not
leave you." So they went down to Bethel.
The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked,
"Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you
today?" "Yes, I know,"
Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it." Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here,
Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho."
And he replied, "As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I
will not leave you." So they went to Jericho. The company of the prophets at Jericho went
up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the Lord is going to take
your master from you today?"
"Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of
it." Then Elijah said to him, "Stay
here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan."
And he replied, "As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I
will not leave you." So the two of them walked on. (2 Kings 2:1-6 NIV)
Elisha
had many hours, maybe even weeks to process what was about to happen. You have to wonder if he was really prepared
to lose Elijah his friend. Maybe he
hoped that something would change things, that Elijah could stay a week longer,
or a month or a year more. If he just
kept going with Elijah they might not be parted. Elisha had the head knowledge of Elijah
leaving but did he have the heart knowledge? Was he ready for Elijah to go? His response to the prophets who warned him
of what was to come is telling. ”Don’t
talk to me about this!” Have you ever
known something was going to happen but you were not emotionally willing to
talk about it…did not want to face it?
Elisha craved every last second he had with Elijah…cherished each last
moment with him. Most assuredly he was not ready to face the fact that this
part of his life was about to end; that he wouldn’t have Elijah with him any
longer.
It
is intriguing that we have no record of how Elisha knew of what was going to
happen or any explanation of why God chose to take Elijah away just then. There is no doubt though that it was God who was
behind Elijah leaving. As
they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and
horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to
heaven in a whirlwind. (2 Kings 2:11 NIV) Somehow the Lord let Elisha know what He was
about to do with his friend and mentor but we aren’t told how He did so. Yet there were no silly explanations like so
many create for why people die. No “God
needed him in heaven” or “Elisha was too dependent on Elijah to keep them
together” or not even “God is making Elijah into an angel to watch over
Elisha”. No nonsense like that as a
justification for what God did. It was
just the raw material of God and Elisha building a new life together without
Elijah there. Our Lord does not expect you
to make sense of why certain painful and difficult times strike you. You cannot draw straight lines between the
tragedies and sorrows you meet and why you face them because our Lord is not
ready to show you everything yet. We
live in a world broken by sin where death and suffering continue. He does have something in mind for you now
though just as He did for Elisha. Elijah
was gone and Elisha couldn’t do anything to change that. For whatever reason, the Lord took Elijah
away. For whatever reason, you
experience difficult and sometimes terrifying times. God does not give you an explanation
though. It is there…and God is there.
A
time comes…and it may be right now for you when you must give up making sense
of what you face and begin to make sense of God. Let me illustrate. After I broke my leg and I was confined to a
wheel chair I still was left with the responsibilities I had before my leg was
snapped in half. One of them was to go
around the school where we lived just before bedtime and check the doors to
make sure they were locked as well as see if anyone was on the school grounds
causing or potentially causing trouble.
My three children wanted to go with me and my older son pushed my wheel
chair. While walking, we came across a
large gang of young adults talking loudly in the field. As we approached them, I was very concerned
about what they were doing at the school and felt like I needed to investigate but
I was also afraid for my kids. I told them
to leave me and go home which the two younger ones did but my oldest son
insisted that he stay with me and push my wheelchair. When we got to the group there were four
young men and four or five teenage girls.
The conversation they were having was filled with cursing and I could
smell marijuana too. They all turned
around to face me as I got close and the entire group surrounded me when I told
them they had to leave. The young man
who seemed to be the leader of the group cursed at me and started making
threats. The other guys also drew closer
and grew increasingly belligerent. As I
sat in my wheelchair encircled by this gang, I had three thoughts. The first was just crazy. I was certain I could take out the leader of
the group even with a cast on my leg. I had
no idea though how to defend myself against the others. Immediately I began to wonder about my
son. What could I do to protect
him? I knew he would not leave me. My third consideration was that God with me
and so within I began to feverishly pray for His help. My mind grew so fixed on Christ that I barely
heard what the gang members were saying to me or to each other but all of a
sudden one of the girls said to them all, “Let’s just leave” and that is what
they did. No further confrontation. No
more threats of violence. They just
left.
Was
this a miracle? Did God change the
course of events for me and my son? I
leave that up to you to decide. All I
know is that in desperation, I turned to Christ for help and I was helped. You may be at that point too. Something has changed for you and you could
use God’s help. Maybe it is time to find
out who God really is and if He can be your Savior. Your mind, because of what is happening, is
undistracted by the Kardashians, by President Trump’s tweets or what is going
on in sports, it is laser focused on God right now. The Bible insists that because of Christ, God
can live in you if you invite Him to join you.
He is there and you are there.
What sort of God is He? Does He
have any love or mercy to offer you? Is
there a hope He can give you? Is He big
enough to see you through this? Who is
this Jesus? It is time for you to find
out. In a world broken by Sin and
wrecked by death and suffering, you have a Savior who also suffered and died
too. But now He is alive and He loves
you and wants to go through whatever you face with you. You may not have your Elijah to go with you
but you have Jesus. Find out for
yourself who He is. Let Christ be a part
of your life. Take a moment to invite
Jesus to go with you, to make His home in you.
Since He died on a cross to take your sin from you and give you eternal
life, He might just be the friend you need right now.
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