From Plow to Prophet

Ken Rice

The mysteries of God are endless. One of those mysteries that so many of us seem to wrestle with is centered around God’s plan and destiny for our lives. We all know those individuals who seem to have found it, discovered it, and are living it. Their lives look like they are just hitting on all eights. The truth is, when you hear the whole story, there were defining moments for them. Moments of profound risk, moments of monumental sacrifice, and moments that required immediate obedience. I want us to look at the calling of Elisha, I believe this story shows us these three components.  We find the story in 1 Kings 19:14-21

“He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.” “Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?” So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.”
1 Kings 19:14-21

The first component is the reality that God has a plan for your life and there is a chance you know nothing of it. Elisha went from manning a plow to appointed prophet.

There is a powerful principle here. Plow the field you find yourself in. Be faithful to what is currently at your hand to do. Elisha was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen and he was driving the twelfth one. The last yoke, guess what he was faithfully walking through? Just because you are where God wants you doesn’t mean you won’t have to walk through a lot of ?@#!. Stay faithful my friend!

There will come a time when God will lay something on you like Elijah laid his cloak on Elisha. You will feel the divine covering, the divine empowering, and the divine calling. You will know God is in it and you will know he has spoken. At this point, you will be at a crossroads. Will you obey and step into the calling or will you question and shrink back behind your plow? I do need to tell you that if you choose the latter, God will still be with you, he will still love you, and he will not give up on you. He will stick closer than a brother. That said, if you don’t step into it, you will miss it.

When that call comes, you will be given a choice to exercise what Jim calls Immediate Obedience.
Elisha immediately obeys and burns his plow and cooks the oxen and provides a feast for his friends. He wasted no time. He didn’t take a few days to think about it. He didn’t buy time with the “well let me pray about it” answer. He didn’t write out a list of pros and cons. He didn’t play it safe. He immediately said yes to God’s calling.

I like to call this legendary commitment. Elisha exhibited ridiculous legendary commitment to Elijah. His commitment to his calling was costly and complete. He made it impossible to return to his past security. He burned his equipment and slaughtered his oxen. Very similar to the way Jesus’ disciples laid down their own careers completely to follow Jesus.

Stepping into your divine destiny and calling will be similar. It will be a Peter stepping out of the boat and walking on water moment. There will be some risk and if you are sane, probably some fear.
Elisha shows us that to step toward your destiny, you have to step away from where you find your security. That plow was not his security, those oxen were not his security, the boat Peter was in was not his security.

 They knew that God was their security. They knew that God was their provider and He would provide for their needs as they stepped into the path he was asking them to walk. God loves you and he has a wonderful plan for your life. Be faithful, be proactive, and be ready.

 I want to leave you with three questions to ponder regarding this.

3 questions to ponder...
Are you faithfully plowing in the field God has you in?
Is your commitment to God immediate and complete?
What security might you need to walk away from in order to walk toward your divine destiny?