Check out the bible’s account of Elisha’s last days:
14 The prophet Elisha was sick with a fatal disease, and as he lay dying, King Jehoash of Israel went to visit him. “My father, my father!” he exclaimed as he wept. “You have been the mighty defender of Israel!”
15 “Get a bow and some arrows,” Elisha ordered him. Jehoash got them, 16 and Elisha told him to get ready to shoot. The king did so, and Elisha placed his hands on the king’s hands. 17 Then, following the prophet’s instructions, the king opened the window that faced toward Syria. “Shoot the arrow!” Elisha ordered. As soon as the king shot the arrow, the prophet exclaimed, “You are the Lord’s arrow, with which he will win victory over Syria. You will fight the Syrians in Aphek until you defeat them.” (Good News Bible)
In this passage, what did Elisha do when he lay there dying of sickness? I’m sure most of us would’ve forgiven Elisha if he was more concerned about his own health and wellbeing at this point, but no; he carried on the Lord’s work, doing the work as the prophet he was called to be. Right up to the end – amazing. Furthermore, he even got angry with the Israelite King for not trying hard enough (a verse later). So thorough in his work as a prophet, this shows even more how dead-set Elisha was on the Lord’s plans and purposes.
Even after Elisha’s death, God works through him:
20 Elisha died and was buried.
Every year bands of Moabites used to invade the land of Israel. 21 One time during a funeral, one of those bands was seen, and the people threw the corpse into Elisha’s tomb and ran off. As soon as the body came into contact with Elisha’s bones, the man came back to life and stood up
Why did this happen? At this point, Neither Elisha, the dead man, or the raiders were conscious of this miracle when it happened, God just did it, and he chose Elisha’s bones – so we’ll never fully know why, but at least we can certainly learn something out of this story. Be encouraged to keep going right to the end, and we never know what works he will do through us, even at times we’re not aware!