And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?" Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me." (2 Kings 2:9)

There had never been a man like Elijah. Elijah had raised the dead, called down fire from heaven, and revealed God’s plans for a devastating drought. The Israelites must have felt certain there would never be another prophet like Elijah, until Elisha came along. Moses was arguably the mightiest leader the Hebrews had ever followed, yet God prepared Joshua to accomplish what not even Moses had achieved. David’s reign marked a high point for the nation of Israel, yet it was Solomon who carried out the task that was denied his father, by building the spectacular temple.

We can be tempted to put more trust in the leaders God gives us than in God Himself. History teaches that, as wonderful as these godly people are, God always has another Moses, Elijah, or David. Often the successor will come with a double portion of their predecessors’ spirits.

God’s purposes do not depend on us. He has limitless ways to accomplish His will. The same God who led Moses could also use Joshua. If no one were willing to serve Him, the Lord would accomplish His work by His own divine power. We are not irreplaceable to the Lord. He will achieve His purposes. The question is this: Will we be a part of God’s activity, or will He find someone else? We deceive ourselves if we think we are indispensable to God. Service to the Lord is an honor God bestows on us, not a favor we do for God.

If you are mourning the loss of one of your leaders, do not despair. God has another leader, for He will see that His will is carried out. It may even be that He has been preparing you to be that leader.

by Ken Camp, Managing Editor (The Baptist Standard)

Principles in a book published 20 years ago revolutionized Texas Baptist Men, transforming it from a missions program for men and boys in Texas Baptist churches to a broad-based ministry with global outreach.

In 1990, the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board published an interactive workbook by Henry Blackaby and Claude King titled Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God.

“Before, were program-driven. But when Experiencing God came in and we began responding to God’s invitations, our ministries began to expand right and left,” TBM Executive Director Leo Smith said. “It shaped us and made up what we are today.”

Blackaby had just become director of missions for a Baptist association in Vancouver, British Columbia, when TBM leaders first heard about him. Before joining the associational staff, he reportedly had been pastor of a church there that was dying when he arrived but experienced revival and birthed multiple mission congregations after he led members to “join God where he is at work.”

Since Blackaby’s experience dovetailed with the TBM emphasis on lay renewal, the mission organization invited him to speak at the 1987 TBM Convention in Fort Worth.

There, he presented in an early form the basic elements of what he later called “the seven realities” of Experiencing God:

• God is always at work around us.
• God pursues a continuing love relationship with us that is real and personal.
• God invites us to join him in his work.
• God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances and the church to reveal himself, his purposes and his ways.
• God’s invitation for us to work with him always leads to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.
• We must make major adjustments in our lives to join God in what he is doing.
• We come to know God by experience as we obey him and he accomplishes his work through us.