I Kings 19:1-6, 11-16 (CEV) 1Ahab told his wife Jezebel what Elijah had done and that he had killed the prophets. 2She sent a message to Elijah: "You killed my prophets. Now I'm going to kill you! I pray that the gods will punish me even more severely if I don't do it by this time tomorrow." 3Elijah was afraid when he got her message, and he ran to the town of Beersheba in Judah. He left his servant there, 4then walked another whole day into the desert. Finally, he came to a large bush and sat down in its shade. He begged the LORD, "I've had enough. Just let me die! I'm no better off than my ancestors." 5Then he lay down in the shade and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel woke him up and said, "Get up and eat." 6Elijah looked around, and by his head was a jar of water and some baked bread. He sat up, ate and drank, then lay down and went back to sleep. 11"Go out and stand on the mountain," the LORD replied. "I want you to see me when I pass by." All at once, a strong wind shook the mountain and shattered the rocks. But the LORD was not in the wind. Next, there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12Then there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. Finally, there was a gentle breeze, 13and when Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his coat. He went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. The LORD asked, "Elijah, why are you here?" 14Elijah answered, "LORD God All-Powerful, I've always done my best to obey you. But your people have broken their solemn promise to you. They have torn down your altars and killed all your prophets, except me. And now they are even trying to kill me!" 15The LORD said: Elijah, you can go back to the desert near Damascus. And when you get there, appoint Hazael to be king of Syria. 16Then appoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king of Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat to take your place as my prophet.
Elijah, who called fire down on the prophets of Baal, was himself burned out. The man is worn out physically as well as spiritually, yet God treats Elijah with understanding and compassion. Even before revealing Himself to Elijah on Mount Sinai God was at work in the background, preparing Elijah’s body for the restoring of his soul. God treats this disillusionment and discouragement as normal and as an opportunity to call Elijah into the next thing he is to do.
Rested and ready, Elijah meets God at Sinai, not in the strong wind, the earthquake, the fire, but in the still, small voice of God, literally, the sound of gentle stillness, a stillness that spoke. The most reliable place for us to hear that still, small voice of God is in Scripture.
When we are feeling overwhelmed we may want an overwhelming experience to help us snap out of it, but for Elijah, it was the stillness, the steady stillness of some small word of God that began to bring him around. When we are feeling overwhelmed, disillusioned, and discouraged, we may hope for wind, earthquake, or fire, but we are called from Mount Sinai to listen in a consistent way to the still, small voice of God in our thoughts, from a friend, but especially in scripture. That’s what it took for Elijah. What does it take for us?
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope August 3, 1997
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
No comments:
Post a Comment