Daily Discovery 26th May 2020 Devotional – First Day At Work
TODAY’S TOPIC: FIRST DAY AT WORK
Opening Prayer: Lord, help me to act on what You have called me to be.
Read 2 Kings 2:1–18 – Elijah Taken Up to Heaven
2 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 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.
3 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, “so be quiet.”
4 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.
5 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, “so be quiet.”
6 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.
7 Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”
“Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
Daily Discovery 26th May 2020 Devotional
10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”
11 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. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.
13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
15 The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16 “Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.”
“No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.”
17 But they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. 18 When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect – Daily Discovery 26th May 2020 Devotional
Have you ever asked God for a sign?
Elisha had been a prophet-in-training, “shadowing” Elijah for some time as God had commanded (1 Kings 19:16). As the handover approaches, Elijah wants to slip away (2,4,6,7), as though he is not sure how to relinquish his role, and Elisha does not seem quite ready to take responsibility.
Elijah knew the dangers of the job (1 Kings 19:3), so perhaps both men wanted God to reconfirm his choice of prophet. Graciously, the Lord gives a string of confirmations. He gives Elisha an awareness of imminent events, and then he confirms what Elisha has sensed (3,5).
Even though Elisha received a heavenly sign (11) and inherited the physical symbol of prophetic authority (13), he still had to believe that God’s Spirit was with him and act as the prophet he was called to be (14). If the waters parted for Moses at the Red Sea, for Moses’ successor Joshua at the Jordan, and for Elijah, would they part for Elisha? We also only know the reality of our calling as God’s holy people (1 Pet. 2:9,10) when we act upon it.
Apply: Who has been a role model to you in your Christian life? Thank God for them. Who could you be a role model for? How can you encourage them in Christ today?
Closing Prayer: Lord, I want to walk in the power of Your Spirit. Show me how I can walk confidently in You today.
THROUGH THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Kings 20,21 / 1 Corinthians 16
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