Sunday, May 04, 2008

1 Kings 19:11-14
11 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. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 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?"
14 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken 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."

to the daft, this passage is not by a minor prophet......
buahahahhaha

anyways, just some background
to those unacquainted with this passage from the bible
its about this really cool dude named Elijah,
an anoited prophet of God in the truest senses
worker of miracles and all
he called down fire, called forth rain, brought widow's sons to life and the like

so yeah
this particular passage happens after a high point in his life
a great spiritual and political victory for israel
he suddenly faces great discouragement at the hands of an evil queen called jezebel

hais,
women problems seem to plague mankind
right from the original sin
although of course, if one would ask, there was a time where women werent a problem
hahaha
yeah
before eve was created.....

so anyways, this jezebel, being the archetype of the alpha female, which apparently isnt of much spiritual value, bauhahaha
persecutes him
and so he runs away

being the good man of God he is, he lived before Christ came, so we cant call him a christian, at least i think so,
he doesnt contemplate suicide, which is apparently a form of great rebellion against God
but yeah,
asks God to end his life

as much as i am a self proclaimed lover of the psalms
truth is the kind of passages that really tug my heart are the ones like these
the ones about Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Moses, David, Jonah, Thomas, Peter, Paul
of liars, cheats, adulterers, murderers, doubters, betrayers and the like
great men of God, who move mountains,
and then at one point or other fall on their faces in the midst of the valley


i need these verses
because for one such as myself, a doubter,
so often i taste the goodness of God and yet i turn my back and run
i struggle against the joy and abundant life
i taste and percieve the holiness of God and yet struggle with my sin and iniquity, or rather fail to struggle with
i encounter the true and living God, but go away barely changed
or fall back into discouragement and end up a hardened bitter person
i need these verses because they show me that as hopeless as i am
im just like any other great men of God
great not of any virtue of my own but the very fact that our God is great
and He is in the eternal business of picking us up and putting us back again


so back to elijah
seeing his discouragement
God gives him rest and chow
God shows him great signs and wonders
but above and beyond that
God speaks to him in that still small voice

and there lies the key

we need the still small voice of God
more than running away
more than sabbaticals and binges
more than miracles


because despite all the joy that we christians claim we have
i wake up on weekdays and despise booking in every morning
on weekends i get out of bed sometimes reasonably amiable and hopeful
and return to it worn out and lonely
waves of circumstance come crashing in
unamiable buggers come by and touch our lives, so often in unedifying ways

and we long in our mire of self pity and despair
for it all to end
for the wind to sweep us away,
the earth to shake
and the fire to come and consume us
to run away and wait for the big fish

but the truth is
we need God
to come and tell us in that oh so still and small voice
that everything will be ok

and till that happens
we will never be able to cover our faces
and submit our hurts and grievances,
fears and anxieties,
sins and iniquities,
flesh and failings
all back to God
and let Him make the difference

oh God
would that You speak
that we may hear Your words for us
and let it make all the difference in our lives

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