When we talk about moving forward, the first thing that comes to mind is not being still; however, the truth is the majority of our lives we spend waiting. Waiting for our weekend, waiting for an easier season of life, for the promotion at work, or for the spouse and kids that we have prayed for, for so long. 

However, as the Egyptian Army approaches, the Israelites begin to get worried, but Moses reminds them that they don’t need to do anything, that God will do it all.

We then are given a front-row view of God’s incredible rescue of his people, but what is so interesting is that this rescue could have come faster. God could have instructed Moses to raise his staff sooner; they didn’t have to set up camp, but God was still working. Not just the rescue of his people, but showing the Egyptians who God is.  

Sometimes moving forward means we have to trust God enough to be still. We have to allow Him to fight for you in rooms you are in and rooms you're not. Trust Him when the battle is on the horizon. When the instruction is to wait. Sometimes, we are where we are so that God can show who He is to those around us. Sometimes it is to protect us from ourselves or a situation that we are not quite ready yet.

When we were moving to town, there was a home that our family really loved. We had seen the home once before and had a second walk-through scheduled for that Saturday evening. When we got a call that the home had a contract on it. We were so sad that our plan was not God’s plan. That evening when I explained our dismay over the home not being ours, a prayer warrior at the church responded with “Praise God”. I was visibly surprised by the response, as she explained further, “You have no idea what God saved you from… what was wrong with that house.” I exclaimed “what is wrong with the house?” She laughed and said she didn’t know either, but that was the point. “Praise God”.

Sometimes, moving forward requires us to take a different approach and sit still so God can fight our battles.

Thank you God, for who you are and how you protect us, even when it appears to us that the battle is on the horizon. Fight for us Lord in the battles we are aware of and those that we have no idea that we are in. Thank you for reminding us of who you are. Help us to look for you throughout our day.

Teaching our eldest son to drive has been an experience. Beyond the gas/brake pedal, road rules, and parallel parking, there has been the experience of having him take us to normal destinations. This has led to our determination that he has no clue how he has arrived at these locations for 16 years. We then have made it our goal to teach him not only the normal path, but the back roads. These roads are completely foreign to him, but they lead to the same location. It just seems sometimes like you are lost.

God, though I would not choose this route, I trust that you are working all things for my good, and that one day, I will be able to see your goodness through this. I don’t trust my situation, I don’t trust the different route, but I trust you.

Theme: Courage is the willingness to serve faithfully in the background so God’s purpose can move forward.
1 Kings 19:21... Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.
When asked what the most difficult instrument in the orchestra is, Leonard Bernstein reportedly answered, “The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm—that’s a problem; and if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony.” His point was simple: not everyone can be first, but everyone matters to the music.
That picture helps us understand Elisha’s first step into God’s call. He was not asked to take the stage immediately. He was asked to follow Elijah and become his servant. After the dramatic moment in the field, after the cloak on his shoulders, after the oxen and plowing equipment were gone, Elisha entered a season of serving someone else. He did not immediately become the prophet everyone looked to. He began by walking behind Elijah, learning from him, helping him, and staying close.
That may not sound exciting, but it is often how God prepares a person for greater responsibility. Elisha had the courage to play second fiddle with enthusiasm. He accepted a place where someone else was more visible, someone else received the attention, and someone else carried the title. Instead of demanding recognition, Elisha chose faithfulness. He served in the background because he trusted that God knew the right time and the right way to use him.
We often want purpose to feel important right away. We want the first chair, the visible assignment, the platform, the affirmation, or the clear result. But following God sometimes means serving without applause, helping without being noticed, and learning before leading. Being second does not mean being forgotten. It means trusting that hidden obedience still contributes to the harmony God is creating.
Where is God asking you to serve faithfully without needing to be first? Who has He placed in your life for you to learn from, support, or encourage? Courage may look like stepping forward, but sometimes it looks like willingly taking the second place so that God’s work can continue through someone else. Elisha’s story reminds us that humble service is not a delay in God’s plan; it is often part of the preparation.

Lord, give me the courage to serve faithfully even when I am not seen or celebrated. Teach me to value obedience more than recognition and humility more than being first. Help me learn well, support others gladly, and trust that You are preparing me in every hidden place. Use my service to move Your purpose forward. Amen.

Theme: Courage is the willingness to step out of our comfort zone when obedience to God requires it.
1 Kings 19:21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate ... 
After Elisha runs after Elijah, he does something surprising. He goes back to the field, slaughters the oxen, burns the plowing equipment, cooks the meat, and feeds the people. At first, it may seem like an unusual way to say goodbye. But Elisha is doing more than ending a workday. He is making a clear break with the life he knew.
The oxen and plowing equipment represented security, routine, and familiarity. They represented what Elisha understood. He knew the rhythm of the field. He knew the work in front of him. He knew the people around him. But when God called, Elisha could not keep one hand on the plow and one hand on the prophet’s mantle. Following God meant stepping away from comfort and into uncertainty.
That kind of obedience is uncomfortable. It asks us to release what is familiar so we can receive what God is doing next. Sometimes God calls us to uncomfortable conversations, unfamiliar places, new responsibilities, or deeper trust. We may not know every step ahead, but courage says yes before comfort gives us permission. Elisha’s burned plow reminds us that there are moments when following God means we stop preserving a backup plan and start trusting Him with the future.
Where might God be asking you to step beyond what feels safe or predictable? What comfort might you be holding too tightly? The goal is not discomfort for its own sake. The goal is obedience. When God leads us beyond comfort, He does not abandon us there. He meets us, strengthens us, and teaches us that His presence is better than the ease we were afraid to leave behind.

Lord, give me the courage to follow You beyond what feels familiar and safe. Help me release anything I am holding too tightly when it keeps me from obeying You. Teach me to trust Your presence more than my comfort and to believe that where You lead, You will also provide. Amen.

Theme: Following Jesus does not mean loving family and friends less; it means having the courage to make our commitment to Him clear.
1 Kings 19:20 ... “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”
As Elisha prepares to follow Elijah, he makes one request of the older prophet: “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.” Elijah’s response seems harsh at first glance: “Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?” But if we look carefully, Elijah is pressing Elisha to consider the weight of the call: Do you really understand what you are being asked to do?
That is a question every follower of Jesus must be able to answer. Do we really understand what it means to follow Him? In Luke 14:26, Jesus tells would-be followers a hard thing: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” Does following Jesus mean we are supposed to hate our families, cut all ties, or stop loving the people closest to us? Thankfully, no. Jesus uses strong language to make a serious point: our first allegiance belongs to Him, no matter what it may cost. Even if it costs us comfort, approval, relationships, or our own plans, Jesus must have first place. That takes courage.
When we look again at Elisha, we see that he understands the call. He does not need to go home and say, “Mom, Dad, I hate you. I’m leaving.” Instead, he needs to make his priorities clear. He returns to his family and community not to negotiate God’s call, but to say goodbye and show that his life now belongs to God’s purpose. He still loves his family, but he cannot let even good relationships keep him from obedience.
That is where boundaries often become necessary. Boundaries are not a lack of love; they are a way of making love obedient to God. Sometimes following Jesus means saying no to expectations that pull us away from Him. Sometimes it means disappointing people we care about because we cannot make their approval our highest goal. Sometimes it means drawing a clear line and saying, “I love you, but I belong to Christ first.”
This kind of courage is not loud or arrogant. It does not use faith as an excuse to be harsh. It simply refuses to let any earthly relationship take the place that belongs to Jesus alone. Elisha’s goodbye reminds us that following God does not erase our love for others, but it does reorder our loves. When Christ is first, every other relationship finds its proper place beneath Him.

Lord, give me the courage to put You first in every relationship. Help me love my family and friends well without letting their approval become greater than my obedience to You. Teach me to set boundaries with humility, clarity, and grace. Reorder my loves so that everything in my life finds its proper place under Your leadership.

Theme: Courage is not always knowing the outcome; it is the willingness to pursue God anyway.
1 Kings 19:20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah.
When we first read about Elisha’s call to become the next prophet, we encounter a strange ritual performed by his soon-to-be mentor, Elijah. Elijah takes his mantle, or cloak, throws it over Elisha’s shoulders, and walks away. Elisha is one of twelve men plowing a field, yet he clearly understands what the gesture means. He leaves his oxen and runs after Elijah.
What did the cloak mean? A cloak was an outer garment that protected a person from the weather. It provided warmth in the winter and shade from the heat in the summer, but it could also identify a person’s position. A wealthy landowner might wear one kind of cloak, while a servant wore another. Elijah’s cloak was likely a rough animal hide made from camel or goat skin. We do not know for sure, but we do know it symbolized who he was. In 2 Kings 1:7–8, Elijah is identified by the description of his clothing.
This is the cloak Elijah places on Elisha’s shoulders. Then Elijah walks away. He does not beg, plead, explain the act, or ask whether Elisha is interested. He simply walks away. Yet Elisha stops plowing and runs after him. Why? Because Elijah is the prophet of God, the spokesman for the nation of Israel. For reasons Elisha may not fully understand, God has chosen him to be identified with Elijah. Did Elisha know everything that choice would require? Did he know what his daily routine would look like for the next several years? No. But when God chose him, Elisha did not miss the opportunity. He did not look around at the other men or say, “Wait, hold my oxen.” He ran after Elijah. And to run after Elijah was to run after the God Elijah represented. That is what Elisha wanted. As we continue to study Elisha’s life, we will see the amazing things God does through him. It all begins with a courageous pursuit.
God has done something similar for each of us. He sent His Son, Jesus, to live, die, and rise again so He could offer us abundant life. In a way that echoes Elijah’s call to Elisha, Jesus comes to each of us, taps us on the shoulder, and says, “Follow Me.” We do not always know what that will look like. We do not always know where He will lead us next. We do not always understand what He allows us to walk through. Following Him takes courage. But the promise is that He is always with us, He loves us more than we can imagine, and He wants to do amazing things through us. That is worth pursuing.

Lord, give me the courage to pursue You even when I do not know exactly where You are leading. Help me respond quickly when You call, trust You in the unknown, and follow You with a willing heart. Remind me that You are always with me, that Your love is steady, and that following You is always worth it

Theme: Courage is not only heard in what we say; it is seen in the life we live.
As we begin this week’s focus on courage, 1 Kings 19:14–21 introduces Elisha, the man God appoints to succeed Elijah as Israel’s next spiritual leader. God tells Elijah to appoint Elisha as prophet, and prophets spoke God’s message to the people. We often think of prophets as people who predicted the future. While they sometimes did foretell judgment, restoration, and the coming Messiah, most of their work was to call people back to God and confront the injustices of their day.
The names Elijah and Elisha sound very similar in English, which makes them easy to confuse. But in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, each name carried a powerful and distinct message for the Israelites. In their day, a name mattered. Parents did not simply choose something that sounded nice; a name said something meaningful about the person, the family, or the times.
Elijah’s name means “my God is Yahweh,” pointing to the one true God. Elisha’s name means “my God is salvation,” pointing to what the one true God provides. Together, even their names preached a message: when you follow the one true God, you find salvation, because that is the kind of God He is.
As we look at Elisha’s life this week, we begin to see what it takes to be a prophet: courage. Courage to speak to the people around you. Sometimes that speech comes through words, but often it comes through the way you live. Your name may not carry a message from God, but your life speaks volumes to the people watching you. What does your life say to those around you? Does it say compromise? Does it say you have to go along to get along? Does it say, “I want to fit in, so I’ll live like everyone else”? How might God begin to use your life to speak to the people you know?

Prayer
Lord, give me the courage to let my life speak clearly for You. Help me follow You with visible obedience, steady faith, and conviction that does not bend simply to fit in. May the people around me see, not just hear, that You are the one true God and the source of salvation.

1 Kings 19:14–18 (NIV) 14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
1 Kings 19:19–21 (NIV) 19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.” “Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?” 21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.