1 Kings 19
19 So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.
20 And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?
21 And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.
Here we read of two men, king Ahab of Israel, husband of Jezebel, and Elisha. The Bible says that king Ahab sold himself to do evil.
Benhadad, king of Syria, made war against Israel. He spoke very proudly, little knowing that he would be killed by suffocation in a short while. Man is so frail! The one moment he boasts and seems strong, and the next moment he is utterly destroyed.
Here, however, we read how Benhadad sent messengers to Ahab to claim all of his best gold, silver, women and children. Ahab agrees to give him all! This is absolute surrender. Being an Israelite king, Ahab should have served Jehovah but here he surrenders totally, without protest to a worldly king.
Have you surrendered yourself to some god, or the things of the world? Some people claim to surrender totally to God, but their actions show that it is a strange god they have surrendered to. The Muslims surrender absolutely to their cause and their god, but it’s a foreign god – they kill and destroy.
Elisha was quite different. Elijah came and threw his mantle upon him. Without Elijah speaking a word, Elisha immediately knew God’s call, and he forsook all. He took his ploughing instruments and built a fire with it and cooked his yoke of oxen upon it, and gave to the people to eat. He made a clean break with his past and followed and served God’s servant, Elijah, faithfully.
Both of these men, Ahab and Elisha, made an absolute surrender, the one to the world and the other to God. Some do surrender to God, but only 50%. They begin to serve God with great zeal, but sooner or later they grow lukewarm and leave God’s call and His work.
The story is told of Dr Walter Wilson, who found his work for the Lord a burden and fruitless. However, after he met the Holy Spirit and surrendered totally to Him, his work was transformed and God could use him.
Have you met the Holy Spirit and surrendered totally to Him? If not, do so today, giving Him complete control over your body, mind, hands, feet, tongue, etc.