Some of us are so busy that our lives could be described as a whirlwind. We think about our schedule, and we get dizzy from all that needs to be done and the places we need to be. What’s tough is hearing the soft, still voice of God in the midst of it all. If you feel like you are in a whirlwind, take hope, God is there with you, and He may be planning on doing something special in the midst of it.
2 Kings 2:1,11
“The time had come for the Lord to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal. As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind.”
Dramatic Departure
A couple of days ago, I talked about the life of Elijah. There was no Old Testament prophet quite like him. From what we know, he is one of only two people who didn’t die a physical death (Enoch being the other one). In these verses, we see his dramatic departure. He is walking along with Elisha, his heir apparent, and is suddenly taken away by a chariot of fire in a whirlwind. Wow! Talk about exit stage left. I don’t think you could stage a more dramatic departure.
A Unique Guy
You could say that Elijah fell into the same category as Moses. The people revered him so much that if they knew where his tomb was, they would turn it into a shrine and begin to worship at it. They might start to see his image in a piece of burnt toast. People do crazy things when people die. I also think it was God’s unique way of rewarding his life for how he ministered and who he stood against.
In a Whirlwind
We must read the life stories of people like Elijah. They embodied the Spirit of God, and with their simple faith, God did some amazing things. So many times, we want God to do something miraculous as His way of proving Himself to us. That is backward thinking. Let’s be faithful in the little tasks He gives us and see how He takes those and molds them into a mighty work of His Hand. He who can be trusted with a little will be trusted with much.