The Goodbye Barbecue

[Elisha] took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate.

1 Kings 19:21

To get to your purpose, you’ll need to leave some things behind. Once you feel the pull of the possibility of where you’re destined, you’ll never be satisfied with where you’ve been!

When the great prophet Elijah called young Elisha to his destiny, Elisha first kissed his family goodbye (v. 20). Then he said goodbye to his livelihood: he broke up his plows, butchered and barbecued his oxen, and fed the people with the meat. Then, he “set out to follow Elijah and became his servant” (v. 21). There was no plan B for Elisha! And there’s no plan B for us when we set out to follow Jesus.

Are there some things or people you need to fondly kiss goodbye today in order to follow Christ? Do you need to bust up some plows and barbecue some cows? Whether it’s a relationship, a habit, a sin, or even a redistribution of your time and resources, you will undoubtedly need to set some fires and give some goodbye kisses in order to set out after Jesus and become His servant. Ask God today what you need to let go of, and for strength to light that match.

Lord God, I want to follow You without a contingency plan. Show me what I need to say goodbye to today.