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Elisha Called to Succeed Elijah
God had told Elijah to anoint another to be prophet in his place—
“Elisha the son of Shaphat.”
1 Kings 19:16
. In obedience to the
command, Elijah went to find Elisha. As he journeyed northward,
how different the scene was from what it had been only a short time
before! Everywhere vegetation was springing up as if to make up
for the time of drought and famine.
Elisha’s father was a wealthy farmer whose household had not
bowed the knee to Baal. God was honored in their home. In the
quiet of country life, under the teaching of God and nature and
the discipline of useful work, Elisha received training in habits of
simplicity and of obedience to his parents and to God. This training
helped fit him for the high position he would occupy later.
The prophetic call came while he was plowing in the field. He
had taken up the work that lay nearest. His spirit was quiet and
gentle, yet he was energetic and steadfast. He gained strength of
character in his humble toil, constantly increasing in grace and
knowledge. While cooperating with his father in homelife duties, he
was learning to cooperate with God. By faithfulness in little things,
he was preparing for larger trusts. Day by day he gained a fitness for
a higher work. In learning to serve he also learned how to instruct
and lead. No one can know God’s intentions in His discipline, but
all may be certain that faithfulness in little things is the evidence
of fitness for greater responsibilities. Only someone who in small
duties proves to be “a worker who does not need to be ashamed” (
2
Timothy 2:15
) can be honored by God with higher service.
Many feel that their lives are useless, that they are doing noth-
ing to advance God’s kingdom. Because they can serve only in
little things, they think they are justified in doing nothing. In this
they make a mistake. One may be in active service for God while
performing ordinary, everyday duties—felling trees, clearing the
ground, or following the plow. The mother who trains her children
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