Made pure to make Impact

When God prepares a life for impact, He does not begin with the crowd. He begins with the journey. Elisha followed Elijah through a series of places that looked ordinary on the map but were prophetic in meaning. First, they came to Gilgal, a place of history, where the reproach of Egypt was rolled away from Israel. It was a place that reminded them of what God had delivered them from. Every young person that will carry salt for a generation must pass through Gilgal. You must come to the place where you confront your history, where you allow God to deal with the weight of your past, your upbringing, your cycles, your hidden pride, your identity struggles, and your traumas. You cannot carry healing to others while you are still bleeding from yesterday. Gilgal is where God rolls away shame, cuts away flesh, and breaks your dependency on self. It is not exciting. It is painful. But it is the beginning.

From there, they moved to Bethel, the house of God, the place of angelic encounters. But this Bethel was no longer what it used to be. The fire had died and corruption had crept in. For Elisha, it was not enough to say he had spiritual encounters. It was not enough to say he had seen visions or heard prophecies. He needed more. He wanted to go beyond past experiences. You too must move past shallow encounters that produce no transformation. You cannot stop at dreams that never become discipline. You must not stop at a prophetic word that you never war with in prayer. You must long for more. Elisha refused to stay at Bethel.

Then came Jericho, a city with reputation but rot. Jericho was known for its walls, its wars, and its women. It was a place of lust and deception. It was also the same place Elisha would later return to perform his first miracle. God made him walk through it before using him to heal it. There are things you must pass through to understand how to rescue others from them. There are battles you must win in secret before you can stand as a voice in public. Elisha walked through Jericho and did not remain there. As a young person, there will be invitations to stay where the crowd is, to feast where others fall, to enjoy what seems normal. But those who want to carry salt must not pitch their tent in Jericho. You are not called to be popular. You are called to be pure.

Finally, they came to Jordan, the river of humility and cleansing. Elijah took his mantle and struck the waters, and both of them crossed on dry ground. You will not carry a mantle until you first cross the waters. Jordan is the place where ambition dies and surrender lives. It is where your heart is stripped bare before God. Elisha had followed through Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho, but until he crossed Jordan, the question was never asked. Only after passing through the places of breaking, watching, resisting, and cleansing did Elijah turn and say, What do you want me to do for you before I am taken away? That moment will come. But not before the process. Not before the purification. Not before you have proven that you will follow, not for fame or miracles, but for formation. Elisha asked for a double portion. He had earned the right to ask. He had died to himself.

Then Elijah was taken up, and Elisha returned alone, not empty, but empowered. The sons of the prophets who mocked him now bowed. But Elisha did not rush to impress them. He went straight to the waters and did what his master did. The same Jordan opened for him. But something deeper was waiting. He returned to Jericho, the city of cursed waters and barren land. The leaders came to him and described a city that looked beautiful but was useless. Elisha simply said, Bring me a new cruise and put salt in it. That one sentence carried his whole journey. He was not just asking for a jar. He was describing himself. He was the new cruise. He had gone through the fire, the press, the cutting, the river. He had been emptied, cleansed, and filled. Now, he was ready to carry the salt, the grace of God, the healing virtue, the wisdom, the word, the presence that heals what is sick and makes fruitful what was dead.

Young man, Elisha is not just a prophet in history. He is a model for your destiny. You must become the new cruise. You must carry the salt of impact, not in a polluted heart but in a purified life. You cannot jump over Gilgal, ignore Bethel, flirt with Jericho, and avoid Jordan, then expect to be used in your generation. You must follow through. You must be made before you can be sent. Your scars must become altars. Your brokenness must become worship. Your pain must become oil. That is how you become a solution. That is how you become the vessel that heals poisoned waters and unproductive land.

The world is crying out, The land is beautiful, but something is wrong. God is still replying, Bring me a new cruise. Will you be that vessel? Will you let God process you until you are pure enough to carry His power? Will you surrender your gifts, your ambitions, your desires, until they are soaked in His salt? Will you go through the path few are willing to take so that you can bring healing where many are dying?

You were made to make impact. But first, you must be made pure.

 Reference: 2 King 1-4

The Process