Don't miss the mantle!

Reading of the Day: 1 Kings 22, 2 Kings 1-2

2 Kings 2:6: And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.

In the previous post, we talked about how God had a plan for Elijah in which he would not have to fear for his life. King Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, was now dead, and also, Elijah would be passing his role on to someone else...and this man's name was Elisha! I always was intrigued by how similar their names were...and rightfully so, because in this Scripture, Elisha refuses to leave the side of his master & teacher, Elijah! God definitely drew Elijah to the right guy! All along the way, until the very end when Elijah was miraculously taken up in a chariot of fire, many people tried to speak into Elisha's life to get him to question if he should just leave, knowing Elijah would soon be gone, or if he should stay until the end. Of course, Elisha was faithful until the end! Even Elijah himself tells Elisha to stay behind, which was probably a test from The Lord, and still he says, "I will not leave thee." In choosing to stay after so many times he could have walked away, Elijah asks Elisha what he would like from him: 2 Kings 2:9 "And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." And that's exactly what happened! Elijah said that Elisha asked a hard thing, but if Elisha was there when he was taken up, then he would receive it! The role was passed down as Elijah left, Elisha caught his mantle, and he certainly did receive a double portion of Elijah's spirit! Imagine if Elisha would have abandoned the mission early! Imagine if he would have said, "Enough is enough." and walked away! He would have missed the mantle! He would have missed his moment! God would not have been so strongly with Elisha as with Elijah! We have to be so determined in our walk with God to let Him know, "I will not leave thee!" because He never leaves or forsakes us! Let us never miss our mantle!