Have you ever had the experience of having a song stuck in your head? No matter what you do it just seems to keep popping up. Lately for me its been Shania Twain’s Swing With My Eyes Closed. Like I said, it just gets stuck there.
I’ve been having a similar experience with a chunk of scripture. Actually, it is more about the character in this chunk of scripture than the passage itself. So who is this character that has been apart of me for the last six months or so? It’s a prophet by the name of Elijah. His story can be found beginning in 1 Kings 17 and continuing into the beginning chapters of 2 Kings.
In a nutshell Elijah comes onto the scene when Ahab (not a good king) is king over Israel, he predicts a drought as punishment for Ahab’s & Israel’s sins, raises a widow’s son from the dead, defeats 450 prophets of Baal, has a run in with Jezebel (Ahab’s evil wife), runs for his life to the south, confesses he is unable to continue on alone, hears God’s still small voice, appoints Elisha the next prophet of Israel, and is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. What’s not to get stuck on, right?
The section of 1 Kings that has capture me is the first part of chapter 19. This part of Elijah’s story takes place right after God, in response to Elijah’s prayer, lit on fire Elijah’s water logged sacrifice and witnessing the end of a very long drought. As Ahab and Elijah headed to Jezreel the queen Jezebel was informed of the happenings and issued a warning to Elijah that she would make sure he was dead by the next day. This makes sense since Jezebel was a worshiper of Baal but what has captured my imagination was the response shown by Elijah.
Elijah became afraid, scared for his life. So frightened that he took off for Beersheba. Pause here with me for a moment and think about this scene. Elijah has a confrontation with Jezebel and he is so frightened that he needs to run away. The question I have been struggling with is why was he so frightened? Let’s review Elijah’s life to this point: called by God to confront Ahab and declare a drought, raises someone from the dead, defeats 450 prophets of Baal and witness the end of the drought. Though God has been there through all these events Elijah is scared and runs away. Part of me is saying “really, you just witnessed all these workings of God and you are scared a Jezebel?” But then I ask myself when have I been scared of what is happening in the world even though I have experienced the wonderful works of God myself. When have I run off in the face of trouble? To whom do I run to?
May I take a side trip here for a moment? I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time this past autumn participating an a Socratic type bible study led by the executive director of 40Orchards (www.40orchards.org) that really helped me to better understand the questions I was sitting with. This method of study allows one to chew on the questions that are raised by passage of scripture being explored. Now, back to the story.
In a panic Elijah heads south to Beersheba, drops off his servant and then continues into the wilderness. He sit down by a broom tree and asks God to take his life because he is done. He is giving up. Elijah declares that “it is enough.” What Elijah is saying is that on my own I can’t do this. I’m not strong enough to stand against the troubles weighing me down. Have you ever had an experience like Elijah? How often do we try and solve things on our own forgetting that God is ready, willing, and able to help us? I fall into this trap more often than I care to admit.
It is after this time of confession that Elijah falls asleep but is awoken by an angel and given some bread and water. He eats and then fall back asleep. After awhile the angel awakens him again and provides Elijah with another meal saying that the journey he is about to undertake is long and he needs nourishment. So once again Elijah eats. It is now that the angel acknowledges that indeed the struggle facing Elijah is to great for him. So what is this God led journey that Elijah is about to undertake? It was a forty day trip to “Horeb, the mount of God”( 1 Kings 19:8).
As I sat with this narrative a bit longer a couple of images have come to me. One, is the image of the “the wall” as described by Janet Hegberg in The Critical Journey. The “Wall” is this obstacle that we run into that forces us into a deeper understanding of who we are and who God is. The other image is the Transformational Crucible as described by LeRon Shults and Steve Sandage. The “Crucible” is their model for the transformational process we go through to deepen or strengthen our faith. This is what Elijah was going through, a deepening and strengthening of his faith.
What I want to focus on is that God sent an angel to be with Elijah in his struggles. God provided food, water, and rest for Elijah as he was in the midst of his transformational process. Question, “Are you in need of an angel right now due to some hardship your are going through?” It doesn’t matter who we are, as Elijah pointed out he wasn’t strong enough to face this struggle on his own. We aren’t always strong enough to face our struggles alone either. So who do you turn to?
Another question, “Is there someone you could be an “angel of God” to?” Have you felt a nudge to reach out to someone recently? Are you willing and able to sit with someone for awhile? I’m not talking about “fixing” someone I’m talking about preparing some bread and providing some water to another who is in the midst of the transformational crucible. Are you the angel that God is sending to someone?
The story continues but that will be fodder for another post. I leave you with these questions to ponder:
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- Are you experiencing a “wall” of some type?
- Who are you turning to for help?
- Has God sent you an angel for support?
- Are you being called to be an angel for someone else?
Hello Scott,
Greetings from the land of wildfires and in a place of escaping its fury. I’ve often thought about that part of Elijah’s life and puzzled about his “breakdown”. Pure exhaustion? Or? Despite all his complaints, God provided and he continued.
Love this blog. I’m pondering.