Seeing Them No More

And he saw him no more. 2 Kings 2:12 (Amplified Bible)

I often wonder what it was like for Elisha when Elijah was taken from him. What was it like for Joshua when he knew he would no longer be able to see and speak with Moses? What was it like for Timothy to go on without Paul? What was it like for David when Samuel was no longer a part of his life? Was there hesitation, fear, apprehension, dread, or sadness? Did they have moments of longing to relive the companionship and fellowship? Did they miss them? Or did they live so connected to God that they knew this was a transition God had brought about? Did they see that the preparatory work had been done in them and it was now time for them to walk out their own life of faith? Did their loss seem like a funeral or a graduation? Each had been the recipients of another person’s counsel, encouragement, leadership, and guidance. But it was not God’s intent for them to remain in another person’s classroom for the rest of their life.

God has spent the last number of months helping me to see His intentions for me as I have experienced the loss of my own “Elijah.” I cannot come up with a word to describe my first response to the change. Panic comes close. It entailed grief, depression, loneliness, and confusion. But through numerous resources I began to see the importance of focus and submission. If I focused on the problem and the person I was in trouble. If I focused on what it was God was doing in me I experienced growth. It is a daily walk that slowly develops the spiritual muscles I need to move forward.

Oswald Chambers’ classic, My Utmost for His Highest, confirmed this truth for me. He said, “It is not wrong to depend upon Elijah as long as God gives him to you, but remember the time will come when he will have to go; when he stands no more to you as your guide and leader, because God does not intend he should. You say, ‘I cannot go on without Elijah.’ God says you must.” I take his words and let them sink deep into my heart. These are the days when I am to take all that I have learned from my former guide and implement them into my own journey. The lessons did not fall on deaf ears or a closed heart. Her investment into my life was not in vane. God gifted me with rich instruction and now invites me to show the fruit of His and her labor. Sometimes with tears and sometimes with joy I move on.

I will one day have the joy of sitting down face to face with my ‘Elijah’ and reviewing all that God did during and since her involvement in my Christian life. That visit may not happen until Heaven but when it does the rejoicing will abound!

Father, You lovingly gave and lovingly took away. I am the richer for both! Amen.