2 Kings 2:9-10 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.”
I think we sometimes forget that God invites us to ask him for hard things. Things that honor him and advance his purposes. Things that defy common sense thinking. That carry us to new dimensions of trust and cut through our stubborn self-reliance.
When the prophet Elijah was about to die, his soon-to-be successor, Elisha, asked him for a double portion of his spirit. Elisha had witnessed how the power of God worked through this storied man of God. He didn’t want the much-needed ministry to end with Elijah’s passing.
So how did Elijah respond to this outrageous request?
“You have asked a hard thing.” “You have asked a hard thing, yet….” Don’t you love that little three-letter word? Yet opened the possibility that difficult did not mean impossible. And in fact, God granted Elisha’s request.
Scripture presents us with ample evidence that nothing is impossible with God. When Judah faced destruction at the hands of the most formidable army in the world, King Hezekiah cried out to God for deliverance. And Hezekiah’s prayer to the God with whom nothing is impossible, changed what seemed inevitable. “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria” (2 Kings 19:20). When King Josiah realized the coming destruction of Jerusalem, he cried out to God for mercy, and God heard his penitent heart, delaying the disaster until after Josiah’s death (2 Kings 22:19-20).
We know when Jesus walked the earth he answered one hard thing after another. Lepers got new skin, paralytics got new legs, demoniacs new minds, those pronounced dead, new life. And most miraculous of all, sinners got a new chance at life.
So don’t be afraid to ask God for hard things. He hasn’t changed. Let faith open your ears to hear the yet. And give him glory!