First, I heard of Mrs. Iva Dell’s passing and then of her dear friend Mrs. Raye Miles. I have to confess that the first thought that crossed my mind was that Iva Dell had beat Mrs. Raye getting home! They were such sweet close friends I could easily imagine there was a “see you soon” pact between them.
Mrs. Ray Miles was one of my heroes. I don’t say that lightly. She is what I want to be when I grow up! Not just because she lived to 102 years old. She was a strong, gentle woman who was made of steel. The word “fierce” is thrown around these days as an accolade that somehow women should aspire to attain. When one met Mrs. Raye, fierce would have been the last word to come to mind.
But she fiercely loved her God and her family! I tried to remember if I have EVER had a conversation with her that did not include a prayer request for someone in her family. She carried them all on her heart. If someone from her family chooses to go down the wrong road, they will have to climb over her prayers to get there. Those prayers have built a wall of protection around them that only heaven will reveal.
But what now? How in the world do you go on when the umbrella of prayer that has protected you is removed? In My Utmost for His Highest Oswald Chambers writes about this as follows:
It is not wrong for you to depend on your “Elijah” for as long as God gives him to you. But remember that the time will come when he must leave and will no longer be your guide and your leader, because God does not intend for him to stay. Even the thought of that causes you to say, ‘I cannot continue without my ‘Elijah.’ Yet God says you must continue.
Alone at Your “Jordan” (2 Kings 2:14). The Jordan River represents the type of separation where you have no fellowship with anyone else, and where no one else can take your responsibility from you. You now have to put to the test what you learned when you were with your “Elijah.” You have been to the Jordan over and over again with Elijah, but now you are facing it alone. There is no use in saying that you cannot go— the experience is here, and you must go. If you truly want to know whether or not God is the God your faith believes Him to be, then go through your “Jordan” alone.
Alone at Your “Jericho” (2 Kings 2:15). Jericho represents the place where you have seen your “Elijah” do great things. Yet when you come alone to your “Jericho,” you have a strong reluctance to take the initiative and trust in God, wanting, instead, for someone else to take it for you. But if you remain true to what you learned while with your “Elijah,” you will receive a sign, as Elisha did, that God is with you.
Alone at Your “Bethel” (2 Kings 2:23). At your “Bethel” you will find yourself at your wits’ end but at the beginning of God’s wisdom. When you come to your wits’ end and feel inclined to panic— don’t! Stand true to God and He will bring out His truth in a way that will make your life an expression of worship. Put into practice what you learned while with your “Elijah”— use his mantle and pray (see 2 Kings 2:13-14). Make a determination to trust in God, and do not even look for Elijah anymore.
God help us- as we lose the saints in our lives it is not time to despair! It is time to snatch up their coats before they hit the ground and begin to do the work ourselves!
To live with a single-hearted devotion to God that never wavers no matter what life throws at us.
To know Him as the one who never fails.
To walk with Him daily, moment by moment, knowing He is with us and we are not alone.
To love our family and friends fiercely- always believing in the best that each one could be.
To carry our loved ones in prayer for their protection, for their salvation, for their direction into a life of fully following God.
To stick with and love the family of God no matter their faults and failings.
The God of Iva Dell Ferrell and Raye Miles is the same yesterday, today and forever. We may not have the friendship with God that they knew, but we can begin today. When Elisha picked up Elijah’s cloak and walked up to that Jordan River, he had no idea that God would do even more through him than he had done through his mentor. Let’s see what He can do through us!