Read: 1 King 19:19
THEME: We know that God is able to select whomever He wants to do whatever He chooses. He can also raise, mould and empower the least of us to do more than we can ask or imagine. Occasionally we get a glimpse of what catches His attention.
When Elijah fled to Horeb in the wake of the threats that followed his Mount Carmel victory, he was given three anointing assignments. The only one he completed was the ‘anointing of Elisha' and he did it in an unconventional way by casting his coat over the young man‘s shoulders.
For Elisha that was enough! He stopped his ploughing and ran after the fleet-footed older prophet, keen to be his apprentice. So what was it about Elisha that caused God to nominate him?
It was probably his diligence, determination and optimism. There had only been one rainfall in three years and he had just hitched up twelve yoke of oxen to break up the rock-hard ground. He was handling a powerful team with skill and was ready for an even greater challenge. Elijah had been a loner but, now that the famine had ended and the king’s wrath was subsiding, many young prophets were being liberated from protective detention.
Elisha would be serving Elijah but with an eye to the future. Diligence, determination and optimism like Elisha’s will stand us in good stead.
Let us seek to have a servant heart and a willing disposition.