“And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. “ 2 Kings 2:11
That day was a red-letter day for Elisha and it changed his life forever. The Day of ‘Small things’ had suddenly come to an end and the day of God’s Power had begun for him. He went from 0 to 100 in the twinkling of an eye and miracles began to take place on a regular basis from that day on. The day before was just the ‘same old, same old,’ but now things were different for he had the double portion he had longed for.
This blessing wasn’t for everyone though, as there were 50 other Prophets nearby but they didn’t receive it for they were on the wrong side of the river, standing afar off. Elisha however was in the right place at the right time. He was ready, willing and able to receive the blessing. He hadn’t given up believing and waiting for God to act, and had stuck in there, humbly serving Elijah every day. It would have been a pity to have travelled so far and then to miss out on the blessing he had longed for, for so long. He could have missed it, for Elijah the Prophet had asked him many times to turn back.
“Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.” 2 Kings 2:2
“Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” And he replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.” 2 Kings 2:4
“Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” And he replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on.” 2 Kings 2:6
Elisha refused to let go until he was blessed. Like Queen Esther, he said “If I perish I perish,” but I’m stepping out in faith. He was like Jacob who was wrestling with the Angel of promise and was also told to stop fighting, but said, “I won’t let you go until you bless me.”
When I was a teenager I used to go fishing for those elusive little fish called ‘whitebait.’ In those days they came in big shoals up the rivers in certain parts of New Zealand and really were an expensive delicacy. You could only fish for them legally at a certain time of the year and even then could end up with nothing on numerous occasions. Even if they were ‘running’ you could also miss out if you weren’t in the right place at the right time.
I always remember that day when I went far up the Mokau River and put my net in at low tide, as it was a tidal river, with the off chance of getting some. It wasn’t the right time but “who knows?” To my surprise I came back an hour later to find my net full and all the water was bubbling with those little fish. I didn’t have a big enough bucket to contain them and poured them out onto my rain coat and into my gumboots, ‘what a day’. I was in the right place at the right time. No one else caught any around me and we didn’t get any more when the tide came in. That was the most of these fish that I’d ever caught and it came because I was really keen and ready and caught the blessing as it passed by. I was in the right place at the right time and captured one of those ‘suddenlies’ in life.
Elisha knew the season, he knew something was up, and that there was a change coming, so he seized the opportunity, and made the necessary adjustments. He could have turned back on numerous occasions but determined in his heart that he would be blessed. He had travelled so far and couldn’t turn back now. He had paid the price and was abundantly blessed! He had served Elijah faithfully staying close to him and was in the right place at the right time and got blessing with one of God’s ‘suddenlies’.
I remember seeing that film “The Journey to the centre of the earth.” The heroes in the story had a map that told them that the entrance to the passage down into the centre of the earth was inside the rim of a volcano. They were instructed to be there at a certain time on a certain day of the year when the sun was shining from a specific angle in the heavens. They got there at that exact time and saw a ray of light shine through some rocks and light up the exact entrance into the depths of the earth. They were there at the right place at the right time and found the entrance to the centre of the earth.
When the SUDDENLY of God came, Elisha was ready. It’s not something that happened every day. For him it was a once in a lifetime opportunity that could have been easily missed. He’d lived for this day and he wasn’t going to blow it now, even though Elijah tried to put him off. He knew that when Elijah had departed from the earth there would not be another chance to get this double portion blessing any more. Elisha would have had to go home and look after the cattle as he did before or join those ‘has been’ Prophets on the other side of the river Jordan.
In 1994 there was a wonderful blessing that came to the world-wide Church called the “Toronto Blessing. It was happening all around the world back then but only experienced by those who were hungry for God. When I had a touch of God in Zimbabwe, my friend in London was also having the same thing over there. This experience soon passed and those who had their hearts open were touched with a peculiar blessing. If you were hungry and listening to the voice of the Spirit you’d sense that this was of God and His time for a visitation. In the early days of my Christian life I knew a man of God who came out of the tail end of the Welsh Revival. His anointing was unique and he had received a blessing by being in the right place at the right time.
God does nothing without first revealing it to his servants the Prophets. (Prophetic Spirit Filled people)
“Believe in the Lord your God, so shall you be established; believe his prophets, so shall you prosper.” 2 Chronicles 20:20.
2 Kings 3:16-20 You read in these verses of the children of Israel being trapped in the wilderness, suffering from thirst and unable to go on. They were going to be attacked by their Moabite enemies but had no strength for the fight. The Prophet Elisha told them to dig ditches? Why would they have to do such a ridiculous thing? Miraculously during the night, water filled all the ditches they dug with water. The more faith you had, the bigger the ditch you would have dug and the more water you would have received. If you didn’t dig you got nothing. Some only dug a little trench and had just enough water for a drink, others had enough to drink and also fill their canteens, while others had enough to also have a bath and a swim.
2 Kings 4:6.The Prophet Elisha told a widow woman who was in debt to collect pots, and pour what little oil she had into them. As she did they filled up miraculously with oil. The more pots she got the more oil she ended up with. The widow didn’t know that this was going to happen when she first collected the pots. She was doing it all by faith and was rewarded for her efforts. If she had only brought 4 pots into her house then that’s all that would have been filled with oil. According to her faith, so it was unto her.
Many Christians are stuck in their old ways of thinking and don’t want to change, so they miss out on the blessings of God when they come. You don’t always have to be in a certain country or in a certain place to get blessed. All you need is have the right attitude in your heart so that when the Blessing comes you will be ready. It can be at noon like it was for Saul on the Road to Damascus or at 9 o’clock in the morning as it was on the Day of Pentecost. It was the time of the evening sacrifice when the Angel came to Daniel, and it was at midnight when the Earthquake freed Paul and Silas from prison. These were all ‘suddenlies’ of God. He can do it for you too.
In 1968 the Swiss dominated the world market with watches. They prided themselves in 100% excellence, having 65% of the world market share, and 80% of the profit. 10 years later they only had 10% of the market share and 50,000 of the 65,000 watchmakers were laid off. Today Japan leads the world market in watches. How did this happen? The Swiss had also invented the quartz watch in 1967 but rejected the idea as it was too “El Cheapo” and had no main spring etc. The Quartz watch however was 1000 times more accurate. Because they didn’t protect their idea at the World Watch Show where it was on display, Texas Instruments and Seiko grabbed the idea and the rest is history.
The Swiss didn’t seize the window of opportunity when it came their way and they lost out big time.
Do you believe the Prophets? Are you getting ready for God to move for you? Are you on the right side of the river? Have you even got a net out to catch some fish? God has His ‘suddenly’ coming up with your name on it, a blessing made available for those who are in the right place at the right time. It’s for those who have their pots ready and their ditches dug. Its for those who have aligned themselves for a blessing. Don’t allow yourself to dismiss all that is miraculous, keep believing for a ‘suddenly’ of God.
I love the story of the Angel who used to come to the Pool of Bethesda. When he touched the water those who were first into the water were healed.
An angel came down from time to time and touched the pool and all that were in the water were healed. John 5:1- 4.
The appearing of a Healing Angel wasn’t something that happened all the time, so you needed to have faith and an expectancy for a blessing. You had to be in the right place at the right time if you wanted to healed. When it came it was sudden. For us in this dispensation ‘Today is the Day of Salvation.’
Mark 10:46 Blind Bartimaeus might never have seen if he hadn’t been hungry for a healing. He seized the opportunity that was made available for him that day, as Jesus passed by, and cried out for help. He knew that Jesus was never going to pass that way again so he aligned himself to get that blessing, and was healed. One minute he was blind and next minute he could see. It all happened suddenly.
At this moment in time you may find yourself in a “Day of Small Things” - Zechariah 4:10. We are told not to despise this day and rejoice in it, but we mustn’t allow unbelief to keep us out of the Days of God’s Power that are also in His plan - Psalm 110. These are special days of power that the Lord has made available for us and it can come at any time. Psalm 118:24.
Are you expecting a day like this to happen to you or have you given up? The bible says that we should open our mouths wide and He will fill them. God can do exceeding, abundantly above what we dare to ask or think.
“And in an instant, suddenly, you will be visited by the LORD of hosts.” Isaiah 29:5-6
