Elisha started out serving Elijah and, in some ways, ended up surpassing him. In Bible days, servants washed the hands and feet of their masters. Elisha did that. He began with the humble task of pouring water on Elijah’s hands and ended up receiving Elijah’s mantle and using it to supernaturally part the waters of the river Jordan. For years he cooked meals, washed clothes, and set up Elijah’s tent. And when Elijah went to heaven, Elisha received a double portion of his spirit and ended up working twice as many miracles as Elijah. There is an important lesson here. If you enter the service of the Lord wanting to start at the top, you will fail. Why? Because the only promotion that matters comes from the Lord (see Psalm 75:6-7). Knowing his time on earth was limited, Paul put in place a succession plan for his ministry. And if you’re wise, you will do the same. Speaking to Timothy, his designated successor, Paul writes, ‘The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men’ (2 Timothy 2:24 KJV). When you try to compete with others or exploit circumstances to your advantage in order to get to the top, don’t be surprised if God blocks your way. When Peter started in ministry, he was like a racehorse that hadn’t been trained: highly strung, impulsive, ambitious. Later he wrote: ‘Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility towards one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you’ (1 Peter 5:5-6 ESVUK).
