Text: 2 Kings 2:6-12

Dealing with hard time is dealing with difficult time or situation. It means something that looks impossible, Isaiah 43:16, Philippians 2:13-14.

In dealing with hard time, the followings happen:
1. Things seem difficult in the eyes of men, 2 Kings 6:3-7, the lost of Axe Head by the son of the prophets.
2. Distractions set in. Not to loose focus and be distracted Hebrews 12:2,
3. Keep on moving on, Elisha kept on moving with his Pastor, Elijah and he was able to overcome the hard thing Psalm 23:6, Mark 16:17-18 Each time, Elisha refused to stay behind. He even used a double oath to show his “bulldog tenacity” to stay with his teacher to the very last. He said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” Please note that Elijah consents each time. He was not dead set against allowing Elisha to follow and this would suggest this was a test to prove the metal of Elisha. What does this teach us about Elisha and about the kind of character God wants in leaders and all believers since we are all leaders to some degree?

CHARACTER THAT GOD WANTS IN YOU
(1) He demonstrated a teachable spirit, a desire to learn and know more about the Lord and ministry. Certainly by this time, as Elijah’s servant and student, Elisha knew a great deal. He also knew he had really only begun. Isn’t that the case with all of us? Elisha was a man eager to learn and experience more of knowing the Lord.
(2) He was loyal, loving and committed to ministry. Elijah could certainly use his help and companionship over these journeys. This demonstrated Elisha’s commitment to others as a servant, the most fundamental requirement of leadership. Are you a member of this church? God has put you here to be an onlooker, not just sit on a chair alone. Are you a spouse, a parent, a Sunday School teacher, a neighbour? God has called you and me to serve and minister to others. This means a willingness to go the extra mile. This shows us that Elisha really cared for his teacher. How we need loyal Christians who are not just looking out for themselves and what they can get out of a church or their leaders. We need servants who are genuinely concerned for others and determined to find ways to serve. By contrast, we are too often quick to criticise and cut others down when we ought to be looking for ways to help.
(3) He was devoted to God’s calling. This means God’s priorities and goals directed and controlled his life. The Lord had gifted him with the gift of a prophet. He was called to the work of a prophet. He was not ruled by other desires that could turn him off course and make him unavailable to God and others. In New Testament terms, he was a Spirit-controlled man. His attitude was like what the Apostle Paul expressed in Philippians 3:12, “Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”As a prophet, he undoubtedly knew that Elijah would be taken. Elisha somehow sensed that being there at that time was vital to his calling and the fulfilment of the work God had called him to do. He was determined, by God’s grace, that nothing was going to keep him from being the person and the man God wanted.

PRAYER POINTS
1. Father, give me a sudden miracle to overcome the hard time in my life IJN.
2. Father, help me not to loose focus and be distracted IJN.
3. Father, help me to move forward progressively IJN.
4. Father, there are Mockers around me, do a mighty work in me and mock my mockers IJN.
5. Elisha was not put to shame, father let me not be put to shame IJN.