In the Old Testament, there was a prophet named Elijah. God had told him and his assistant, Elisha, that He was going to take Elijah to heaven. God even told them that it was going to be in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:1). Elisha would not let his master, Elijah, out of his sight. Even though he knew that today was going to be the day, he was not ready to let go.
Double Portion
9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”
Elisha knew that this was going to happen; there was no way for him to stop it. God had told both of them and many other prophets that Elijah was going to be taken up today. Elisha did not want to see Elijah go, but he knew that if he had to be without Elijah, he want to have a double portion of what Elijah had – the Spirit of God.
Separation
11 As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.
Elisha was sticking close by his friend and mentor, but in the end, God separated the two of them and He took Elijah up to heaven with Him. There was nothing Elisha could do; it was Elijah’s time to go. God still had more work for Elisha, though. Elisha had to stay here and help the people of God.
Dealing with the loss of a loved one, a close friend, or even a coworker can be hard. Sometimes, we have to deal with the loss of a job that we have had for many years, or a large financial loss. Even though losing things is not as hard as losing a loved one, it can still affect us. Bad things will happen, even when we don’t want them to, even if we are doing everything right. In this life, we will experience pain.
Paul even told some new Christians that this would definitely be the case.
Many Tribulations
22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
Yes, God loves us, and yes, God is able to stop evil in this world. At the same time, God allows all of us to have a free will, to make our own choices. Sometimes, people doing bad things can cause us to suffer loss. It doesn’t seem right or fair, but it happens. We choose how we will react, though. Will we blame God or other people? Will we refuse to accept what has happened, and promise vengeance for our loss?
Jesus had evil people reject His love for them and crucify Him, because of jealousy. How did He react?
Forgive Them
34 But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.
Not only did they crucify Jesus, they cared so little that they gambled to see who could take His clothes. Jesus was on that cross, even though He was the Son of God, even though He created the universe with His Father. He was on that cross, even though He had done everything right in His life and loved everyone around Him. If anyone deserved to feel anger and lash out to those around Him, Jesus did. Instead, He showed his incredible love by saying, “Father, forgive them.”
When Elisha lost his friend, Elijah, he knew he needed God to help him get through the pain and the loss. Jesus promised us just that. The day before He was crucified, Jesus knew that He was about to leave His disciples, so He promised to be with them forever through the Holy Spirit.
Another Helper
16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;”
Jesus could not be with them forever, but the Holy Spirit could. The Holy Spirit is our Helper, Comforter, Advocate, Teacher, and Best Friend. We all know that we will have to deal with loss. Some people choose to ignore it; others choose to blame others or even themselves. Even if we make a mistake and cause the loss ourselves, we have to choose what we will do now.
In the early church, Christians were having all of their possessions stolen, and even being put to death. Sometimes, they were even being killed for the amusement of others. As always, Paul put things in perspective.
Surpassing Value
7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,
Paul had a lot in this world that he gave up when he became a Christian. He was also treated horribly and unfairly, simply because he was a Christian. He knew that all of these earthly things were nothing compared to knowing Jesus.
No Comparison
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
The sufferings the early Christians had to endure – beatings, having their possessions stolen, torture, and even death – Paul said that they all could not even compare with what God has in store for us. When we look at this life with eternal eyes, focusing on what will really matter 10,000 years from now, we see what is truly important. Jesus is always here with us, through the Holy Spirit. He is here to comfort us through our hard times, even when we have to endure them. We can then turn to help others, when they go through hard times and suffer loss themselves.
Comfort
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.
Let’s choose to focus on God’s comfort, not what we lost. God is here for us; let’s be here for each other, as well. So, how do we deal with loss? By reaching out for God’s comfort, through His Holy Spirit, and the love of those around us.
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