“When Elisha was in his last illness, King Jehoash of Israel visited him and wept over him. “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!” he cried.”
Elisha, the man who asked for a double portion of God’s blessing and got it, the man who prophesied and performed miracles did not receive a hall pass when it came to personal illness.
This prophet among prophets got sick and died.
Wait a minute! He must have done something wrong!
He must have toyed with temptation.
He must have stepped in sin.
He must have walked in wickedness.
He must have fallen out of God’s favor.
No. No. No. and No! He got old. He got sick. He died.
We fool ourselves and set our hope on a house of cards if we imagine God’s favor means God’s protection from all harm or God’s healing at every health crisis. And yes, I am talking COVID-19.
I appreciate the words of Martin Luther King Jr — and the sentiment behind them — when on the night before his assassination he said,
“Like anybody, I would like to have a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will.”
King, like Elisha, understood the one thing that trumped his desire was God’s desire. In fact, Martin Luther King, King David, David Brainard (the young missionary on fire for God), Jim Elliot, John the Baptist, Elisha, and a host of others throughout history lived by the epitaph that marked David’s tomb:
“For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption,”
My host of dead mentors all understood that which I need a fresh sense of in these COVID-19 days:
“ It is God’s purpose not my health that is paramount.”
Hold on there! Are you saying, “Throw caution to the wind!” Of course not. Our safety precautions at Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary and Graduate School are stellar. We are working to protect the health and safety of our employees and students like the gold at Fort Knox. But I fear that the narrative of caution and fear that permeates news outlets of every variety sets my health on the highest pedestal.
In fact, that pedestal is reserved for God.
2 Kings 13:14 is for me a salient reminder of God’s grandeur and the gospel. When the “hero” died in 2 Kings 13, the story did not end, because Elisha was not THE HERO. That’s Jesus! Jesus conquered the grave and Jesus is coming back on a white horse to rule, reign, and set the world right (Revelation 19:11-16).
And remembering that it is his grace and goodness that rescues me from the grave, helps me not to confuse sickness or cancer or COVID-19 with God’s favor. God’s love for me was settled at the cross. He did not die for me because of my goodness but in spite of my sin. God’s love had nothing to do with me and everything to do with him.
That is still true! God does not love you any less if you suffer an injury, get the virus, or contract a potentially life-threatening disease. We live in a fallen world. Disease and death happen. Sometimes God intervenes and sometimes not.
God used Elisha to bring a sick kid back from the dead (2 Kings 4:18-37), but Elisha himself got sick and died. Was his sickness or death an indication of God’s disfavor? No way! And while there are exceptions to this (1 Corinthians 11:27-32), I must remember God loves me — period!
These are tough days — scary days! But my heart is at rest and my vision is clear when Christ and His purposes — not my health — occupy the highest pedestal in my life.