Editorial Spring 2007
Photo by DeAnn Lloyd
Out of the Cave
If you've had a month like I've had, you just want to crawl into the cave beside Elijah and hide. It's the old "Murphy's Law- anything that can go wrong will." Outside of the tomb are people who can easily rip your heart out, money problems that threaten to destroy all that you have, and circumstances nationally that make the hair on the back of your neck feel like a Wookie* in Springtime. So, how do you get out of the cave so you can follow the Lord without being crunched by everything around you?
Elijah ran to the cave because he was in fear for his life from Queen Jezebel. She had threatened to kill him after the infamous fire-from-heaven incident at Mount Carmel, AND the ending of a long drought. He had spent years doing miracles, fighting the good fight against evil and false prophets, speaking the Word of the Lord in the face of imminent danger...and after the greatest miracles of his life, he flat wanted to quit. The pressure simply became too much and he ran. But remember this: Elijah ran TO GOD. He sought the Voice of the Lord in everything around him, waiting and hoping to hear from the God that he served so passionately. When things go bad in your life- where do you run?
Elijah only had a few more assignments left, and God gave him a new protégé`- Elisha. When He finally heard from the Lord, he was able to complete his mission on earth. (with the exception of anointing Jehu - Elisha finished that one for him). If you are feeling like it's time to give up, hang in there just a little while longer...your task is not finished, and God will send help.
So how do we hear from God like Elijah? Be honest with Him. Drop the religious prayers and junk you've learned in the past, and just lay your heart bare before Him. Plastic Christianity, as I call it, is when we try to manufacture faith out of words that our hearts don't really believe. If your experience has been less than faith-building in an area, your only hope to build your faith is in that personal relationship to God. Chanting Scripture into the air will not solve the issue if your heart is broken somewhere. Because only His Presence, His soft whispers of love will heal the parts of you that need His help. Elijah finally heard the soft quiet Voice of God in the silence.
What is the difference between being honest, and wallowing in the same self-pity garbage that continually pulls you back into the broken place? The difference is focus. When your focus is on worshiping the Most High God, He will help you bare your soul -- it's like (pardon this allegory don't get offended) taking your clothes off when you are in the bedroom with your husband or wife. All that you are, flab and all, is before Him. Most people who wallow in self-pity blame others. They clothes themselves with whining about how everyone always hurts them. Baring your heart is different - with tears in your eyes, you can release all that happens to you by quietly allowing the Lord to bring it out, wash it away with His Presence, and clothe you with peace instead. And all you have done, all that others have done to you, can be touched with healing in an instant. God encouraged Elijah by reminding him he wasn't the only faithful servant left. He was not alone in the battles. You are not alone, either. Not only is God with you, but there are others just like you who face circumstances that seem insurmountable. Nothing is impossible with God.
Believe that God is love. Read 1 Corinthians 13 carefully. Love is the greatest gift, because God is Love. If we fully learn to understand that He is the fullness of Love, our whole perspective on everything can change.He will NOT harm you. You have an enemy who will try, but nothing that can be done to you will ever separate you from God Himself. (Romans 8). The world cannot harm you. All of the hostile rhetoric, all of the fearful sounding things they tell us, all of the madness that surrounds us cannot keep you from Christ. Heart pain or physical pain cannot keep you from God. Because God gave His only Son for us. Because He has set His love upon us. Because every need that you have is graven on His hands and in His heart. His desire for you is good (Jeremiah 29:11). You are most deeply loved!