Me and Elijah

Hello, friends.

In 1st Kings 18, Elijah had a great victory. He challenged the prophets of Baal to a showdown.

"I am the only one of the Lord's prophets left," he said. "But Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let Baal's prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood and not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire - he is God."

Long story short, the prophets of Baal called to their god from morning until night, with no response. Then Elijah built his altar, poured jars and jars of water over it, and called on his God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. "Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, 'The Lord - he is God! The Lord - he is God!'"

Amazing, right? Elijah had faith in God, and God provided the sign that Elijah needed. All was well. It was a great victory.

The next day, Elijah ran for his life.

Why, you ask? He was afraid. He received a death threat and he ran. "He himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat under it, and prayed that he might die. 'I have had enough, Lord,' he said. 'Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.' Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep."

Today I feel like Elijah under the broom bush. I'm tired; I want to give up; I feel worthless, beaten down from all sides. Despite all of the great victories that God has given me, all I want to do is run for my life. I'm afraid. And I'm sure I'm not alone.

Elijah wasn't alone, either. Though he fled to the wilderness and lay down to die, he was not alone. "All at once an angel touched him and said, 'Get up and eat.' He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

"The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, 'Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.' So he got up and ate and drank."

Isn't that incredible? God knew what Elijah needed, and it wasn't a pep talk. It was rest. God gave Elijah time for recovery. Later, after Elijah was recovered, "the word of the Lord came to him: 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'

"He replied, 'I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.'"

If God asked me this question today, I would probably sound just like Elijah. "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty," I would say. "I have dedicated my life to Christian education, I have moved hundreds of miles away from home, family, and friends, and I have become a foster parent. No matter what I do, it is never enough, and people are tearing me down from every side."

"The Lord said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.'"

"Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

"Then a voice said to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'

Elijah repeated his complaints. He had been zealous for so long, with so few results. God replied with two main reassurances. One, that although Elijah might not see them, there would be results. Good would come of what Elijah had done. And two, Elijah was not alone. God was with him, and God would appoint helpers and successors for him.

Then God told Elijah to go and continue his work.

I often feel isolated and alone. I wonder every day if this is really where God wants me to be. "If it is," I wonder, "why did x, y, and x happen to me and those around me? What is it that God wants me to do here?" The story of Elijah gives me four sources of hope.

1) God will give me rest when I need it. My well-being is a priority of his.
2) God listens to my woes. He truly hears and understands me.
3) God is always with me, and I am not expected to do any of this alone.
4) Although I may not see it now, good things will come of what I do in this place.

It's hard to be a church worker. It's hard to be so far from friends and family. It's hard to be a foster parent. Sometimes it's just hard to be.

But I have hope.