Keep Your Eyes On Me!

2 Kings 2:9-10 (NKJV)

9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?”

Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”

10 So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.”

Last month I preached a sermon from this passage of scripture entitled, "Double Speed Anointing." Holy Spirit pulled this word out of me one morning when I was reading a devotional written by my dear friend, Kim Potter. In her devotional she was expounding on the season of the double portion in which we are in. It was then that Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, "As it was for Elisha, so shall it be for you."

As I read this entire story there was one thing that really stood out to me. Elijah asked Elisha what did he want from him before he was taken away. Elisha asked for a double portion of his spirit. Elijah said that Elisha had asked a hard thing. And then he said,"Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so."

What was Elijah trying to tell Elisha? Not that what he had asked for was hard for Elijah to do. I believe he was telling Elisha that it would be hard for him not to become distracted by other things while he was following Elijah or waiting on him to be taken from him. In other words, "Elisha, you will get what you asked for as long as you keep your eyes on me.

Has God ever asked you what is it that you want Him to do for you? He has asked me that question on several occasions and I have always had an answer. I suppose that is why the conversation between Elijah and Elisha really stood out to me. When you follow after God closely like Elisha was following after Elijah, He can sense that you desire something from him that you don't already have.

I am reminded of a time when I first began to pastor. We had moved from one rented location to another and now it was time to move again. Each move was because the locations changed owners and the new owners had different ideas for the use of their property. I remember one day I was spending time in worship and prayer in my basement when Holy Spirit clearly spoke to me and asked me what did I want. I began to say that I wanted a church building of my own. I was so detailed about what I wanted in it, where I wanted it located, etc. Let me tell you, I got EVERYTHING that I asked for and quickly. It was by all means a miraculous and supernatural experience. But I had to stay focused. There were so many distractions along the way that could have caused me to miss out. But I kept my eyes on Him every step of the way. That was back in 2002!

The same is true for us today? God asks us what do we want and He promises to give it to us but we have to remain focused on Him. Our lives are filled with distractions...good and bad. Even in our story you will see that every where that Elisha and Elijah went they were met by a company of prophets. Each time the prophets would say to Elisha, "Do you know that the Lord is taking away your master today?" Each time Elisha would say yes and basically tell the prophets that he did not have time to think about it at that moment. He refused to even talk about it. Elisha could have put his focus on what the prophets were saying and decided to stop following Elijah. Had that happened he would not have received the double portion. He would not have even had the chance to ask for it.

I don't know how emphatically I can say this, but in order to keep your eyes on Him you will have to watch what you watch! You will have to watch things that feed your faith. You will have to watch the words that come out of your mouth and the things that go into your eye gates and your ear gates. You will have to watch what enters your heart and you will have to watch what enters your mind. The distractions are everywhere, so as hard as it may be, it is up to you to choose what you watch and how you watch. But if you keep your eyes on Him, just like Elisha, you will receive what you asked for.

Blessings,

Pastor Karen