Double Portion

Elijah and Elisha were pretty tight. They had that bond between two believers that is indescribable.

Have you ever known that kind of kinship?


I have and I can promise you that I would be much less of a person without the influence of special people with whom I have shared that spiritual closeness. There is something about the safeness between two people united by their desire to grow more like their Creator that chases away the competitive living that we tend to find ourselves in, making room for true vulnerability.

Making room for loving correction, making room for tender, careful pruning that produces healthy growth for years to come.

There is room for acceptance, warts and all.

These are people I know I will remember forever, no matter how old and senile I might get!

These are people that I want to be more like.

Elisha had been told by Elijah in 2 Kings 2 that he should stay behind while he moved on to another city. Elisha would have nothing to do with that and asked to go along with Elijah saying, "I will never leave you."

Elijah permits him to accompany him to this town and to others after it, but while they were in the first city, a group of prophets came to Elisha and asked him, "Don't you know God is going to take Elijah away from you?"

He hushed them, "Of course I know. But be quiet about it."

Within my very relational heart, as I think of what Elisha must have been feeling, it seems that Elisha didn't want to talk about this. He didn't want it mentioned, I wonder if it was because thinking of life without Elijah was just too painful to bear.

I have had those thoughts about several people in my life, and very recently thought those same thoughts about our pastor and his wife as they plan to journey into a new ministry opportunity.  But, painful as it may be, God is still God and He knows exactly what He is doing.

As the time drew near for Elijah to be taken up into Heaven, he asked his long time friend Elisha, "Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away?"

I think Elijah knew how hard this was for Elisha, and I think he probably felt his pain.

I love what Elisha asked for.

2 Kings 2:9 Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.

Oh, my friends, my friends, my friends, do you have someone in your life that you would love to inherit a double portion of her spirit?

Goodness, I do, and I am so thankful to have had their influences on my life.

Here's another question for you - a question for reflection.

If someone inherited a double portion of your spirit, what would they receive?

Would it be a gift they would forever treasure or a burden slowing and stunting their growth?

I am sad to say, that the spirit that would be inherited from me would not always be one that would be treasured. It certainly would not always be one that a friend would ask to receive.

God, thank You for the Elijah's in my life. You have created some incredible people and planted them within my reach. I look at these people and admire Your spirit I see within them and to inherit that spirit would be a gift beyond measure. I pray that my spirit would be one that would be a blessing to inherit. Please teach me, Holy Spirit, when and where to change my spirit to be one more like You, for that is all I desire to pass on to others. A spirit of love. A spirit of grace. A spirit of wisdom. A spirit of gentleness. Please have mercy on me when my spirit is critical and make me aware of those times. Please have mercy on me when I am unmerciful in my spirit and bring me a step closer on that ladder I am climbing toward You.






Royal Princess Daughter Of The King