As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.

He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. 2 Kings 2:11-14

After Elijah was taken, Elisha went to the Jordan and hoped that the Jordan would split as it had done in the recent past with Elijah holding the cloak. It’s almost as if he struck it, it parted, and he looked around sheepishly to make sure no one was watching. From the text, Elisha didn’t expect the water to part.

Elijah granted Elisha a double portion of his blessings. By the end of Elisha’s life, he would have performed exactly twice as many miracles as Elijah.

But this first miracle came as a surprise.

We love surprises, usually.

Have you ever been surprised by God’s blessings? Have you ever secretly hoped that God would stop blessing you so much? We take His blessings fo granted.

Take out some paper and list those blessings. Then thank God.