I Kings 19:19
“So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat while he was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah came over to him and threw his cloak on him.
This was the calling of Elisha. As far as we know he had no warning. He was at work plowing in the fields. He may have been daydreaming, obsessing over a problem. He may have been bored or frustrated with farming.
God opens opportunities in many ways. This is one way. It just comes out of the blue. We are busy with a typical task, and it happens. Psalm 37:4 shares another way, “Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” When we seek the Lord, He gives us new desires. This may have been what’s on Elisha’s mind. He may have wanted to serve God in this capacity.
When we have a desire, we seek to follow opportunities that open before us. Acts 16:6-10 gives us some insight as to how God will interact with our desires, “They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, after being forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; and passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and pleading with him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When he had seen the vision, we immediately sought to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. This is fascinating. They wanted to go into Galatia, but were somehow forbidden, then they tried to go to Bithynia and they were stopped again. We aren’t told how this happened.
How can God forbid us from doing something? We may feel a caution in our spirit’s or there may be an obstruction to a circumstance. That doesn’t mean its God, but I stop and toss up a prayer. God if You don’t want me to do this let me know. If not, I will proceed. I have never heard an audible voice, just a sense of caution or an obstructions. Another way is for something not to work out. This is common. It might not be a “no”, but a “not yet”.
Back to the Acts passage, one of the team receives a vision. It could be a vision, an idea from oneself or another. If it’s not contrary to scripture, and it interests us, we try that. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
This is quite exciting to interact with God this way. I’m presently involved with something like this. A few years ago, I was motivated by a friend, and we discussed it. He seemed excited for me to join him. However, I didn’t hear from him. So, I attempted to start it on my own. Nothing. I tried again with him a year later. He was still motivated. Nothing. But six months later, we ran into each other in an unexpected context, and it started. We’ve been working together for nearly a year. It’s not up and running, but we are working on it.
God works with all His children this way. Just like Elisha, something happens. Lord, thank You for working in us and through us. You use us to get things going as well as presenting things to us. You are good.