"Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" This was the cry which fell from the lips of the prophet Elisha immediately after the translation of his predecessor, Elijah. Was he equal to the task that lay ahead? A great weight of responsibility had fallen upon him. How could he, a poor, insignificant stripling, follow in the succession of the mighty Elijah? Who had not heard of the mighty exploits of this man of God? Elisha was in a desperate situation.

Could he follow successfully in the supernatural work of God? Elijah had gone to his reward: would God's power still operate? Elijah's God had answered His servant by food and fire, by drought and rain, by miracles and mercy. He had never failed him, so that he was able to declare with flashing eyes, "As the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand …"

The prophet seizes the mantle of his master, and with strong, sturdy steps faces his first immediate test. The theological students were watching him from across the river with critical eyes. Was Elisha a prophet in name only? Did he just have the mantle of the prophet's profession? If I were an artist, how I would love to depict such a glorious Biblical scene! Excitement is in the air, as the servant of the Lord waves the old mantle above his head and cries, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?"

Will you kindly notice first of all that this wasn't a cry of unbelief. It's common to use these words during times of declension and departure from the faith, when the Church has lost her prestige and power. Saints wring their hands and beat their breasts and cry out in despair, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" Elijah with the flashing eyes and the voice of thunder; Elijah, the spectacular man of God with the mighty victories. No! Elisha's was not the cry of despair arising from unbelief. Elijah may pass from the scene of his victories, but the God of Elijah still remains and is ever ready to work today. The danger today is that we're trusting in the mantle of Elijah and not in the God of Elijah.

Again, it wasn't a cry of idolatry. Elisha didn't cry, "where is God's Elijah" but, "Where is the God of Elijah!" We're living in serious days of evangelical idolatry. As the personality parade passes before carnal eyes, unsanctified believers bow in adoration and worship. Thank God for the inspiration and strength we derive from the lives of the mighty men and women of God, but we refuse to worship them. If all the famous preachers of the world should die tomorrow, God could carry on His work without them. He's still the God who answers by fire. It's sheer idle folly to cry in despair, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" God buries His workmen but carries on His work. The prophet wasn't glorying in Elijah's faith but in Elijah's God. Elijah, by his mighty faith, had brought glory to God's holy Name. Thank God for giants of faith in olden times like George Mueller, Grattan Guinness and others. We don't disparage the instruments but look beyond them to God Himself.

Elisha's was also a cry of victory, the language of audacious faith. He knew Elijah's God was with him, and he marched with conquering strides to his first conquest. Where Elijah finished, he began. Glory to God, the waters parted and the servant of the Lord passed through.

This is copyrighted material from James Stewart's book Come O Breath, available from Revival Literature, PO Box 6068, Asheville, NC 28816.