Double Portion

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?" "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.
10 "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise not." 2 Kings 2:9-10

My first intention when I started this blog post was to encourage you to have faith to reach out and ask for your own "double portion". I was going to say, "Go ahead.  Just ask for it." However, further study on the life of Elisha, has sent me another direction for this post. It seems that it would be an injustice to encourage anyone to ask for a "double portion" if they have not first prepared for it.

I think so many times in life, we want to skip to the best parts of the Bible . . and life. We want the reward, but we don't want to offer anything to receive it. Receiving something too soon in our lives could do more damage than good. As Aaron Sharlow says, "Nothing is free in the Kingdom of God. Nothing." Everything has a price. Either we pay the price or Jesus pays it, but somebody has to pay for it. Salvation is a gift paid for on our behalf, but the growth that comes after that requires payment from us.

Before Elisha reached the point in his life where God allowed him to receive the "double portion" anointing, he had to pay a price out of his own life in order to grow. If for no other reason, he had to grow his faith. Miracles such as Elijah's did not occur without great faith. It would be no different for Elisha.

Elisha had to face enemies and defeat them. He had to come face to face with the spirit of Jezebel. He had to learn to fully rely on God in everything he did. He had to learn to serve. He had to sow seeds and plow the field. He endured trials and hardships. And, most of what Elisha learned, he did so walking right next to Elijah. Elijah was his teacher and Elisha willingly served him and learned from him, until God's chosen time to pass on the mantle.

It's easy to want the great and miraculous things of God. These are the exciting parts that fill church pews and put a bounce in a Christian's step. Yet, if we had any idea how great God's power really was, I don't think we would ask for it so lightly. Power in the wrong hands can be devastating. If we want the anointing, we must also want to do the homework.

In conclusion, prepare yourself, study, learn, grow, increase your faith, surrender yourself fully to God, and THEN go ahead and ask for your "double portion."

If you look at it this way, it sheds new light on the phrase, "You're not waiting on God. God's waiting on you." Your blessings are sitting there at their appointed destination and always have been. God's just waiting on you to get there.