“Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.” Malachi 4: 5, NLT.
Dear Heavenly Father, Once more we enter Your presence with songs of praise. We are anxious to hear the message You have in store for us today, as we sit at Your feet. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
It never ceases to touch me, very profoundly, just how human, and even vulnerable, the people who God chooses to do His bidding, can be! The reason I am so moved by this awareness, is because I too, am human, and in some instances, vulnerable! But the thought that brings me the greatest hope, is the knowledge that God is not through with His daughter yet! Hallelujah! He is still working on me! The best is yet to come!
Just imagine, Elijah had done what most people would have been afraid to do. He had spoken against the establishment! He had called sin by its name. We know that in some societies that can be a rather dangerous thing to do. Centuries later, it would cost John the Baptist his head. During the reign of the Third Reich, it would cost Dietrich Bonhoeffer his life. And even as we speak, the life of some missionaries in foreign lands, hang in the balance, for preaching an unpopular message!
When word reached Jezebel that her prophets (the prophets of Baal) had been killed; she sent a very threatening message to Elijah, “Let God deal with me, if the same fate that befell my prophets, does not befall you.” And Elijah ran for his life! Before we begin to question Elijah’s faith, and fantasize about what we would do, “if we were him,” let us remember two things: 1) We are not Elijah. And, 2) none of us know what we will do, until we are actually faced with a situation. What is very helpful, is to decide daily, to be faithful to God come what may! And as far as in our power lies, let us pray for strength to be faithful, as did Daniel and his three friends (Daniel 1: 8). Nevertheless, our best intentions, without the help of God, avails nothing, “in the hour of trial.”
Another phenomenon that I have personally noticed, is that, after a very high spiritual experience, comes a rather low, emotional dive. This could be due to over-exhaustion; or an adrenalin rush, followed by a sudden drop in adrenalin. Whatever the cause, it tends to leave you somewhat depressed, and sometimes quite vulnerable. I am not sure if this is what happened to Elijah. What Scripture does tell us, is that after seeing one of the greatest manifestations of the omnipotence of God, Elijah runs – to the point of exhaustion; sits under a tree, and prays to die! Aren’t you glad that God does not answer certain prayers? I surely am!
So God lets his child sleep. Then He sends His angel to awaken him, and show him some food that has been prepared just for him! Next, the angel shows him where he can get some nice cool, fresh, water! After that, God lets him sleep some more. Then He feeds him again. Now that he has been revived, it is time for him and God to have a talk. “What are you doing here Elijah? The question is asked twice, and both times, Elijah’s response is the same, “I have been very busy working for You God, and as a consequence, my life is now in jeopardy! Besides, God, I am the last of the faithful left in the entire camp of Israel!
I am so glad that our Heavenly Father does not show us our true condition when we are down! He knows just how much we can bear!
We will continue our conversation tomorrow.