July 27

Shortly before the LORD took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal, — 2 Kgs 2:1 BSB

When a godly person leaves this world, they do not cease to live. God took Elijah to live in another place—a heavenly one. We can verify this because, nearly 900 years later, Elijah appeared again, alive and active in God’s work. In Matthew 17:3, we read, “Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.”

This is just as true for the Christians we lose in our homes as it was for Elijah. The Lord takes them to be with Him in heaven, where they live forever in blessedness.

One cold autumn day, I saw an empty bird’s nest in a tree. It looked desolate and abandoned. But I knew that the birds who had once lived there were still alive, having migrated to a warm southern land, beyond the reach of winter’s storms. They were singing sweet songs there, even as I looked at their empty nest. In many homes, there is an empty place, a nest left by a loved one who is gone. But we know that the dear Christian who has passed away is alive with God in heaven, and there is great comfort in this.

There is also a message in the way Elijah was taken from earth. It happened “in a whirlwind.” A whirlwind suggests fear and terror. But this storm was God’s chariot, and it carried the prophet up to heaven. Death may often seem terrifying to us, but no matter how it comes, it is merely the means by which God takes His children home to glory.