Pick it up!

Elisha saw nothing at first--he almost gave up and lowered his disappointed eyes back down to earth and shut his gaping mouth.

"Oh well, that's that,” he thought.

Then he saw it. It was fluttering, almost like a bird, but he could tell it was descending, and it was the right color. WHOP! it landed on the ground beside Elisha, casting up a cloud of dust. It looked like nothing special, just an ordinary cloak, in fact rather ragged and threadbare. But it was all he had of his former master. And what of the promise?

“Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?" Elijah had asked.

"Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," was his attendant's answer.

“You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah had said, "Yet if you see me when I'm taken from you, it will be yours--otherwise not."

Then the fiery chariot with its horses swept Elisha's master away in a fierce whirlwind.

Elisha bent down and picked up the cloak, handling it gingerly. He turned back to the Jordan. Firmly holding the cloak, he struck the water with it, crying out, “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?"

Instantly, the waters parted, allowing Elisha to cross over on dry ground. And more miracles are recorded about Elisha’s ministry—in fact twice as many—as are recorded about Elijah’s.

The apostles are all gone, leaving us behind. Try as we might, we cannot see them anywhere in the skies. But we look down, and there, on a table or on a shelf, is the Bible. Contained within is "the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16) and "everything we need for life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3), enough for every Christian to be "thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3.17).

It lies there close enough to reach. It may look lifeless and powerless, but it's not. Pick it up and read, asking in prayer, "Where now is the God of the apostles?" I'm confident you will discover the astonishing answer.