“FINDING YOUR BLESSINGS IN A GOODBYE”

II KINGS 2:1-12

 

2:1  Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.

2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

3 And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he said, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”

4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.

5 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”

6 Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.

8 Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground.

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.”

10 And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.”

11 And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12 And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more.

Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

 

All good things must come to an end.  That’s true for a lot of things in life.

It’s true for the stock market. For years it went up and up and up and then it came crashing down.

It’s true for the Patriot’s dynasty. They won Super Bowl after Super Bowl and then it came to an abrupt end.

It’s true for a vacation. You go somewhere to get away and then you have to go back to the stress of the real world.

It’s also true for relationships. Elisha found that out the hard way. 

He and Elijah had been through a lot together.  Now Elijah was about to be taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire and Elisha didn’t want his master to leave him.

 

I bet you know what that’s like.  I bet you can think of a few people who you want to be a part of your life forever.  Then again I bet you can think of a few people who you wish would just go away. That’s how Robert Schuller probably felt many years ago when the car he was driving was involved in a fender bender.  It wasn’t a serious accident but that didn’t stop the other driver from getting out of his car and flying into a rage.  I don’t know if he realized that Schuller was the pastor of the world famous Crystal Cathedral or not.  In any event he kept on cussing and cursing at him.  Schuler let the man rant and rave and then when he stopped to catch his breath he said to him, “Mister, God loves you and I’m trying.”

There are times when you wish that someone would just go away. Elisha didn’t want Elijah to go away though.  Elisha was Elijah’s faithful disciple.  That’s why he followed him to Bethel.  It’s why he then followed him to Jericho.  It’s why he then followed him to the Jordan River and beyond.  Elijah kept telling Elisha to stay put while he went on without him but each time Elisha said the same thing.  “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live I will not leave you.”

 

When was the last time you didn’t want to a relationship to end? It happens all the time and in lots of different ways.

It happens when a husband or wife comes home and out of the blue shocks you by saying “I want a divorce.”

It happens when your company relocates and you have to leave your family and friends behind to move to another part of the country.

It happens when a son or daughter grows up and goes off to college.  Some mothers find it hard to let go and accept the fact that the child she held in her arms isn’t a child any longer.

 

Then again some mothers seem to handle that transition with ease.  They’re like the mother who sat down one day for a heart to heart talk with her daughter.  The daughter was expecting her first child and wanted to know what to expect.  “Mom,” she said, “You had six kids.  Did motherhood change you in any way?”  The mother smiled and said, “It certainly did.  For one thing it made me a lot more mellow.” When the daughter asked her what she meant the mother gave her an example.  “Well,” she said, “when your oldest sister coughed or sneezed I immediately called the ambulance. On the other hand when your youngest brother swallowed a dime, I just told him it was coming out of his allowance.”

 

When was the last time you didn’t want a relationship to come to an end? 

It happens when you try to help someone but the person just won’t listen.  So you have to go your separate ways.

It happens when a parent develops Alzheimers and the mother or father you used to know slowly fades away.  That’s why that disease is sometimes called the long good-bye. 

It also happens when a student minister’s time comes to an end and he has to move on to answer God’s call.

 

The end of a relationship can be painful but it doesn’t have to be the end of the world.

Let’s go back and take another look at what happened to Elisha.  It’s true that Elisha didn’t want Elijah to leave him.  It’s also true that Elisha tore his clothes in a sign of grief after Elijah was taken up to heaven in that chariot of fire.  It’s also true though that when Elisha saw what was happening he cried out, “My father!  My father! The chariots of Israel and it’s horsemen!”

 

Elisha was sad but he was also excited. He wasn’t just excited because a miracle was take place right in front of him.  There was another reason why Elisha was excited. Because Elisha saw the chariots of Israel and it’s horsemen he knew that something wonderful was going to happen to him.

Do you remember what Elisha said right before Elijah left him?  Elisha said, “Please, let there be a double portion of your spirit on me!”  After Elisha made his request do you remember what Elijah said to him?  Elijah said to him, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.”

 

That’s why Elisha was excited that day.  Because he saw the chariots of Israel and it’s horsemen it meant that he was going to inherit a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.  It meant that God wanted him to step out of his master’s shadows and become a prophet himself.

 

That’s one of the things that makes this story so powerful.  What this story seems to be telling us is that sometimes you have to let go of a relationship before God can lead you to a new relationship a new life or a new blessing.

 

You can also see that simple true in a powerful moment that takes place during the Last Supper.  Shortly after Jesus tells the disciples that he is going to be crucified he also says something else to them.  In his gospel John writes in his gospel that Jesus also says to the disciples, “because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the (Spirit) will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”  (John 16:6-7)  Jesus knew that in order for the disciples to be great men he had to go away.  As long as he was around he knew that they would continue to lean on him.  So, he told them that it was to their advantage that he was  going away. 

 

Christie Craig found out what can happen when you let go of a relationship.  Christie Craig is an author who writes romance novels and the relationship that she had to let go of was a relationship that had broken her heart.  It all started when she was in the park one day helping her daughter learn how to ride a bike.  That’s wasn’t easy. Unfortunately, her daughter’s first attempt to ride the bike month’s earlier resulted in a broken arm.  So, she was reluctant to give it another try. Christie did everything she could to coax and cajole her daughter onto that bike. At one point she said to her daughter, “You know, Hon…Most everything you do comes with risks.  You could get a broken arm in a car wreck and then be afraid to ever ride in a care again.  You could break your arm jumping rope.  You could break your arm at gymnastics.  Do you want to stop going to gymnastics?”    The pep talk worked.  It wasn’t long before Christie was watching her daughter joyfully ride her bike around the park.  Later on as they were walking home her daughter asked her a question.  “Why were you and Grandma arguing last night?”   Christie tried to avoid the question.  She didn’t want to talk about her mother’s constant attempts to fix her up with Mr. Perfect.  Her daughter though was persistent.  She shrugged her shoulders and said, “Grandma said she just wanted you to find someone to love.”  At that point Christie Craig lost her temper.  “What Grandma wants,” she snapped, “is for some guy to break my heart again.”  When her daughter said, “But Mom…” Christie cut her off and said, “You’re too young to understand.” A couple of minutes later her daughter looked up at her and said very innocently, “I guess love isn’t like (riding a bike and) a broken arm.”

Later that evening Christie Craig made a decision.  Looking back on that life changing moment she wrote: “I did what I’d seen my brave little girl do that very afternoon.  I let go and agreed to meet Steve.  Steve was the man for me.  We married less than a year later.  It turned out Mother – and my daughter – were right.”  (Chicken Soup For The Single’s Soul pp. 232-234)

 

Sometimes letting go of a relationship can be hard.  Elisha will tell you though that sometimes the only thing standing between you and a new relationship, a new life or a new blessing that God wants to give you is the need to let go of that relationship.  Amen.

 

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

February 22, 2009