This week's story is one of my favorites. In 1 Kings we meet a man named Elijah who God has chosen as His messenger to the people. He has predicted a drought, revived a widow's son, presented himself to the King, and defeated the 450 prophets of Baal. By all measures he is a mighty man of God and the message he speaks is beginning to reach the people. Still the King and his wife, Jezebel, refuse to turn from they're evil ways and instead plot revenge.
One threat from the queen sends Elijah running. In fact he journeyed for forty days and forty nights to the mount of God where he decides to hide out in a cave. I can imagine this is how the conversation might have gone:
God: Elijah, what are you doing here?
Elijah: I've been fighting this fight for a while God. I've been passionate about loving you...loving others. I've served you the best I know how. I'm tired...weary...alone. I'm the only one left. Even though they saw the work of your mighty hand, their still after me. I give up...just take me home.
God: Go out and stand in the open before me for I am about to pass by.
You probably know the rest of the story. A wind blew strong enough to break rocks...an earthquake shook the entire mountain...a fire raged...and then "sheer silence". In the silence Elijah moved to the mouth of the cave and God spoke to him.
We all can identify with Elijah. He'd been doing his best to serve the Lord. Sometimes even when we've done our best the threat still exists. Kids experience this too. They've studied hard for the test and still didn't get the grade they wanted. No matter how much they try to fit in with a group of friends, they're not accepted. All the hitting lessons didn't pay off at the plate. They might want to give up...or hide in a cave. I do at times.
For me this is where parenting gets tough, and I'm learning to see them as Elijah moments. Moments that give me the opportunity to remind my kids that God didn't leave Elijah in the cave...he won't leave them either. When the storm has died down and the fire is spent, He speaks.
It's the question we most often ask those who claim God still speaks to us. I'm sure my kids wonder it themselves when I remind them to ask God for the answer. How does God speak? What does He sound like? How do I know? Elijah might have wrestled with it in the cave just like we do today. You won't find "10 Hacks to Hearing God" on your facebook news feed. I have some answers I usually give but Elijah's story reminds me to take a moment and let the noisiness of life become quiet. God spoke when things got quiet. This is something I practice because honestly I'm not that good at it. Learning to practice silence has improved my hearing in so many ways.
Do you have a story of your own you might share? How you explain to your kiddos the way God speaks to us? Just e-mail it to me at stacy@jacksonvillemethodist.org. I would love to hear it.
