I'll Have A Double Portion - Denise Pass

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

There is a quest for “more” that God approves of – especially when it is spent on others for His glory.

Scripture of the Day:

2 Kings 2:9

“When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘What can I do for you, before I am taken away from you?’ Elisha answered, ‘May I receive a double portion of the prophetic spirit that energizes you.’”

When I was twelve, a quarter was very important. It was the difference between doing laundry or not. For my mom and I, every penny counted during that time. I confess I felt remorse and guilt at spending two quarters on a video game at a Pic Quik store across the street that made my mom cry.

In those lean times, we learned to economize and be grateful for what we had. My mom met someone special and one of his favorite things to do was to go out to eat, and one of my favorites was when he said, “Let’s go to Baskin Robbins”. This was amazing to me.

A visit to an expensive ice cream place (sorry to bust on Baskin Robbins), was amazing to me. When it came my turn to order, it all looked so good. I just could not decide, so I asked for a double scoop. Hmmm . . . the good ol’ days when I could get a double scoop. Not so much now, my metabolism has caught up with me.

Wait a minute . . . I interrupt myself to say that there might be a connection between yesterday’s blog and today’s, both having food as a source of delight – hmmm – could I be dieting again? But I digress . . .

Being greedy or gluttonous in the area of food might add to the Gluteus Maximus if you know what I mean. But there is a quest for more that God approves – especially when it is spent on others for His glory.

Elisha desperately did not want his mentor – his brother and discipler – Elijah to leave. Who would? When asked what Elijah could do for him, Elisha asked for a double portion of the prophetic spirit that energized Elijah.

Elisha was not asking for His glory, power or fame. He wanted the relationship with God that Elijah had. He knew He would need God’s grace to continue in the work God gave him to do. With all that Elijah did, who could fathom what a double portion would be? And what prompted such a desire?

In Old Testament times, the firstborn son was the inheritor of the “double portion”. Elijah was like a father to Elisha and Elisha wanted the spiritual inheritance from his father. What a great request – smart – kind of like Solomon asking for wisdom instead of riches.

Elisha saw His need of God to accomplish the ministry before Him, and he spent that double portion lavishly on God and His people, not for himself. Though there was this incident with mocking youngsters who kind of got mauled by a bear for calling him, “baldie” . . . so Elisha wasn’t perfect . . . but He hungered after God.

We aren’t so perfect, either. All the more reason to ask God to grant us a double portion spiritually that we might have energy, strength, wisdom and grace to serve God and His people with all our heart, mind, body and soul.

Oh God, may You grant a double portion to those who read this blog post today and to me, as well. Enable us to impart faithfully what You have given. Each talent, every gift You have so generously given – poured out and spent all for You.

Denise Pass | Author | Singer | Speaker | Worship Leader