2 Kings 2:15
And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
The ministries of Elijah and Elisha are challenging ministries for any believer or preacher to desire to emulate. These men saw many miracles in their ministries. We know that Elijah saw fourteen miracles mentioned in the Scriptures, whereas Elisha saw twenty-eight miracles in his ministry. It is worth noting that Elisha requested a double portion of Elijah’s spirit before Elijah descended to Heaven, and the Scriptures show that God gave Elisha a double portion of everything He gave to Elijah.
If you are like me, I want God to do the miraculous in my life and ministry. It is easy to read about the miracles of these two men, and even the miracles we see in the ministry of Christ, and almost get discouraged because we don't seem to get the same miracles these in the Scriptures had. Our problem as humans is that we expect these things every week. However, when you look at the lives of Elijah and Elisha, there were many days they never saw a miracle. Elijah had a thirty-five-year ministry, and Elisha had a seventy-year ministry. Again, the double portion he requested.
What we miss that is critical is that these two great men went many days without seeing God doing something spectacular. When you divide the miracles into the years of ministry these men had, you would see they only saw a miracle on average every two and one-half years. In other words, their ministries went two and one-half years in between each miracle. There were two and one-half years of just doing what was right without seeing God doing something spectacular in their ministries. It was the daily acts of doing right without the spectacular that led to God giving them a miraculous ministry that we all talk about and desire.
My friend, doing right despite no miracle is as critical as the miracle. We love the miracle, but you must do what brings the miracle when there is no miracle. Those two and one-half years could have become discouraging to these men and could have easily moved them to quit, but they didn't quit! These men still did what was right, which is why they saw the amount of miracles in their lives and ministries.
Galatians 6:9 teaches, And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. What you do after the miracle will determine whether God does another miracle. After the miracle, you must keep doing what brought the miracle, even if you don't see another miracle. Doing right always pays, but the paydays often don't come for a long time. God always pays His debts; you just have to wait and keep doing right for God to pay those debts of service and giving in His time.
Do you find yourself becoming discouraged while you wait for God to show Himself again in your life or ministry? Bus worker, do you get discouraged in the in-between time of the big days? Pastor, has discouragement set in as you wait for God to show Himself again in your ministry? Never forget that the great men of God, Elijah and Elisha, only saw God do the miraculous every two and one-half years; they just continued to do right in those in-between years, which led to their miraculous ministries. Do right and never quit; the next miracle is on the way if you will continue doing right.