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I was thinking today about one of the stories about the prophet Elijah, found in 1 Kings 19. Elijah was a prophet during the reign of King Ahab, who did what was evil in the sight of God, largely due to the influence of his wife, Jezebel. She introduced the worship of Baal in Israel. Elijah had a showdown with the prophets of Baal in which he demonstrated that God was the true God. Then all the prophets of Baal were killed. When Jezebel found out about it, she ordered that Elijah be killed. And so he ran away into the wilderness.
He threw himself down under a tree and wished that he was dead. He went to sleep there, but suddenly an angel appeared to him and told him to eat and drink the food and water that he provided. Elijah was told to go to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. And he went into a cave. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" And Elijah answered, "I have been very zealous for the Lord ... for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." God then appeared to Elijah, not in a great wind, not in an earthquake, and not in a fire, but in a still, small voice (or quiet whisper). Again God asked, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" And Elijah gave the same answer. Then God told Elijah to go back home, and on the way to anoint Elisha as a prophet who would take his place. And then God said, "Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal." God was telling Elijah that, in spite of how he felt, he really was not alone in Israel as the only one still faithful to God. There were at least 7,000 who were with him. And now there would be at least one other prophet who was speaking the same message. The story reminded me of a song by Lauren Daigle, called "Look Up, Child." In part it goes: Where are You now when darkness seems to win? Where are You now when the world is crumbling? Oh I, I hear You say, look up child, look up child. Sometimes what we feel to be true is not the reality. Sometimes we feel as if God were not there, and yet God is there. When we are looking all around us at the things that are scary or threatening or discouraging, we should instead look up and see God. We don't face any problems in this life on our own; God is always with us. We don't only have our own resources to draw on, we can draw on the strength and power and creativity of God. In these days of pandemic, fear, stress, job loss, and staying at home, stop looking around you at the things that seem overwhelming and look up, child of God, to see your God right there with you. And there is nothing in this world that is too overwhelming for God. Take care, Pastor Elisabeth |
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