Going Beyond with God

Based on 2 Kings 1-3

It's one thing to stay where we are at and continuously wait on God to reach out to us. It's another thing to voluntarily go beyond and seek out God ourselves. Of course, we do want God to lead us in the right direction...and when He does, we shouldn't stand still & stay comfortable! We should go beyond with God!

Ahaziah became king after Ahab in Israel, and he sought a false god, the god of Ekron named Baal-zebub, to tell him whether or not he would recover from his disease. God speaks to Elijah, and Elijah meets Ahaziah's servants on their way to the idol god to tell them what the One TRUE God has to say:

"But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baal–zebub the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus saith the Lord , Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed."
2 Kings 1:3‭-‬4.

Right when God told Elijah to go, he went! He did not hesitate. He did not fear. He wasn't afraid of the servants of the king! Elijah knew & believed God could do what seemed impossible-he even called down fire from heaven twice to consume the king's armies which came against him after telling the servants the bad news that the king would die:

"And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty."
2 Kings 1:12.

When the third army was sent against Elijah, the soldiers were afraid and knew they could not possibly come out alive-so they humbled themselves in the sight of Elijah:

"And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight."
2 Kings 1:13.

Elijah followed God closely. When God was on the move, so was he! When God was going beyond what seemed to be humanly possible, Elijah still obeyed and went further-no wonder Elisha wanted to stay just as close to Elijah! We should always stay close to the people of God, and most importantly, we should always stay close to God!

"And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth–el. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee."

"So they went down to Beth–el. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee."

"So they came to Jericho. 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."
2 Kings 2:2‭, ‬2:4, 2:6

Elisha never stopped pursuing! He could have stayed behind as Elijah said. Elisha also kept being reminded by the other sons of the prophets that Elijah was soon to be taken from him, but he kept going as far as he could go with him until that point. Are we willing to go the whole way with God? Will we stop short, or will we go beyond this world's discouragements?

It's a good thing Elisha went the whole journey! Elijah asked Elisha what he could do for him before God took him up in the whirlwind, and Elisha asked for a double portion of his spirit...but it would only be given if Elisha saw him be taken up! If he didn't go that extra mile, he wouldn't have received that double portion!

"And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces."
2 Kings 2:11‭-‬12.

Sure enough, although he mourned not being with his friend, Elisha had the double portion:

"And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him."
2 Kings 2:14‭-‬15.

He asked where God was, and trusted that when he smote the waters, God would be there! What if he was stuck in a place of depression, and just walked away from the water altogether? What if he wasn't willing to go beyond in order see if he had his desired gift?

From there on, God used Elisha mightily as he had used Elijah...especially against Moab. God even made the water look like blood to the Moabites so they would think everyone in Israel was dead! The Moabites then went to attack, but the Israelites were good & ready to receive them and win the battle:

"And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood: And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil. And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country."
2 Kings 3:22‭-‬24.

Nothing is too big for God-not anything in this world! Go beyond with God today!