He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the banks of the Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. (II Kings 2:13-4)
Many gathered at the banks of the Jordan that day, but only Elisha seized the mantle of the double portion. He alone had followed Elijah back through the parted waters to the wilderness side of Jordan. Standing upon the same real estate the Hebrew nation wandered for 40 long years, Elijah asked, "What shall I do for thee?" Without hesitation, Elisha answered, "A double portion of your spirit be upon me!" His willingness to cross over Jordan and follow Elijah into the howling wilderness qualified him for the long desired mantle of power. It was there that Elisha uncovered a powerful principle for us: Mantles fall in the wilderness.
It seems like a contradiction in terms, an oxymoron: A glorious mantle in a howling wilderness? How can we justify this? Surely the double portion is acquired in the promised land! Perhaps it is atop Mt. Zion, at the peak of our spiritual experience. Is it not in the lofty places? Then it must be with Jacob, who wrestled with God in an all-night prayer meeting.
Elisha didn't find it in any of those places, that isn't where we will find it. The spirit of God is adjusting our perspective. Your greatest mantles are unlikely to be picked up in great congregational gatherings among multitudes of rejoicing Christians, but rather, alone in your wilderness with your heavenly Elijah, as you bow in brokenness of spirit before Him.
How could something so despised yield such blessing? The wilderness experience is an inevitable part of every believer's journey to the double portion anointing. It is not the consequence of a life gone irretrievably wrong or the neglect of a God who has forgotten us. There is purpose for your pain and meaning in your wilderness—so don't despise it. God has designed it to qualify you for the double portion. Be confident that you're coming out of your wilderness with greater power than when you entered it. You may have entered your wilderness in captivity, but you're coming out a free child of God. When you exit your trial you will be more than just a survivor, you will be transformed to an overcomer, clothed in new power from on high.
Jesus' baptism illustrates this truth. As John baptized Jesus in the muddy waters of the Jordan, a dove descended upon him and the Father spoke from heaven saying, "Thou art my beloved son, in thee am I well pleased." (Luke 3:22) No sooner was Jesus filled with the Holy Ghost at the Jordan than He was led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted of the devil (Luke 4:1).
This noteworthy truth bears repeating: Jesus comes out of the Jordan filled with the Spirit, but He does not experience the power of the Spirit until He emerges successfully from His wilderness. When did His infilling become His empowering? Only after He passed the test in the wilderness. We read, "And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit unto Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about." (Luke 4:14)
If the Lord transformed His infilling at the Jordan into supernatural empowerment in the wilderness, we would be foolish to think we could escape that process in our own lives. But this process is not uniquely reserved for Jesus. It serves as a divine model for every true child of God who thirsts for the double portion anointing. You may be a spirit-filled believer, but you will not become a spirit-empowered overcomer until you successfully pass through your wilderness experience. Clearly, there are mantles of power found in the wilderness that cannot be found anywhere else.
We would love to bypass trials and tests on our journey toward spiritual maturity and empowerment, but there are no shortcuts. Jesus never promised us that. What He did say was that the promise is to the overcomer (Rev 3:21, 21:7). And in order to be overcomers, we have to face the obstacles. Our victories will not be without struggles. Life just isn't that way; its paths aren't smooth. There are ups and downs and bumps in the road. We must handle the wilderness of adversity faithfully, because the level of our faithfulness will determine the level of our anointing.
There can be no anointing oil without the crushing of the olive. There can be no wine of joy without the pressing of the grape. And gold cannot be purified without the fire. Most importantly, there cannot be supernatural power manifest in your life without wilderness journeys. You say you're anointed? Let me see some wilderness sand emptied from your sandals!
Much of the underlying frustration and discontentment in the Body of Christ can be traced back to false expectations and deferred hopes. We stubbornly refuse to acknowledge the process that all recipients of divine destiny must go through: that series of crucibles directed toward fulfilling God's plan, often painful, but nevertheless necessary. We embrace the promise, but despise the process and as a result we rarely see those things we desperately desire materialize in our lives.
Many of us would pay any price for the anointing, but it's not for sale. God doesn't hang a price tag on the prophet's mantle of power. He doesn't say, "Fast 21 days, pray three hours a day, and, oh, by the way¾be especially nice to your mother-in-law." There is no price to pay: instead, there is a God-prescribed process we must go through and God only requires our willing submission to it.
God never tells us the price in advance. For example, if I want to buy a car, the salesman tells me the price in advance. If I go to a restaurant, I read the menu and it tells me the price of each meal in advance. But God never told any of the Old Testament patriarchs the price of miracle power in advance. We only understand as we take the first step and His enabling grace empowers us through to the end. (Rom 8:13).
Ah, but Church, the price is well worth it! As the inspired pen of Paul writes, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Rom 8:18) The process we endure is working for us an eternal weight of glory. Scripture is filled with heroes of faith who paid the price, went through the process, and found what they sought most where they least expected it!
Samson, a young man of courage, faced a death defying encounter with a wild lion and there found refreshment. (Judges 14:5-9) As the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, he ripped the lion in half bare handed. Inside its carcass was honey. Wrapped up and contained within the very thing that was designed to destroy him, Samson found the sustenance he needed to go on.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's decree and he became so angry that he ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter. It was so hot that it killed the men who threw the three Hebrew boys into it. But the flames didn't destroy them—on the contrary, only their bonds were burned. But most significantly of all, the trial brought the fourth man into manifestation¾Christ Himself! Were it not for their willingness to hazard the trial, He would have remained obscured and unseen. (Dan 3:1-30)
Joseph endured and found opportunity in the midst of crisis. His coat of favor provoked jealousy among his brothers. They conspired to kill him, but God wouldn't allow it. Instead, He used their jealousy and hatred as a vehicle to position Joseph in Pharaoh's court. Joseph's ascent was a series of divine opportunities stashed away and obscured in crises. Had he never endured the trials, he would never have been positioned to minister divine provision in the midst of a global famine. (Genesis 37, 39 – 47)
These patriarchs endured the trial. God's ultimate wisdom was at work in their process. There was reason for their pain; there is reason for yours. Though many times it is a crucible of rejection, failure, and suffering, it is also the place where the greatest spiritual impartations abide. This is why the Lord says in the book of Jeremiah, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (Jer 29:11) There is a determined outcome for your life and the wilderness makes you ready, so don't despise it, embrace it!
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