October 6th, 2019
Devotional
“Listening: The Mystery of Miracles”
1 Kings 19: 11-21
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Monday: “Go Out and Stand” - 1 Kings 19: 11-12
“The prophet Elijah came around during the time period of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Wicked rulers who despite multiple times where Elijah tried to enter into their lives and tell them a new story, still worshiped Baal, the god of weather. It wasn’t uncommon during this time period to worship different gods for different things. And every King and Queen want a good harvest - which requires good weather - because no one wants to rule during times of drought and famine. Yet, that’s exactly what Elijah told the King was on the way - a drought. Not a welcomed message to be sure. Elijah told King Ahab that this particular drought was going to be a bad one - lasting five years. Now, three years later, three years of no rain, three years of the people whom Ahab and Jezebel ruled over praying to Baal for the drought to end, God sends Elijah back, telling him that when Elijah goes before Ahab, God would send rain upon the land.
While Elijah is venturing off to make this grand announcement, he first came across Obadiah, Ahab’s palace administrator who devoutly loved the Lord. Elijah tells Obadiah to go announce his presence to the King and Obadiah rightly freaks out a bit, worried that he would be put to death for such an announcement. But Obadiah went anyway, and Elijah presented himself before the King, who blamed him for the entire drought because of his prophesy. Elijah wasn’t having any of the blame game though - and switched it right around on the King, telling him that it was because of the King and his family following Baal that they were in this mess in the first place. Which is where we pick up today’s story.
For this and many other offenses in the eyes of the King and the Queen, Elijah found himself hiding out on the mountain. Waiting for the presence of God.
Have you ever expected God to show up one way only to have God come in a different way?
Prayer: Lord, we thank you that you keep defying our expectations. You show up time and time again in ways we do not expect, but which change our lives. Speak, O Lord, anew. Amen.
Tuesday: “What are you doing here?” - 1 Kings 19: 13-14
Elijah spent his time as a prophet leading people to make choices. Just a chapter earlier, Elijah gave the people a choice about who they were going to follow: Follow God, the Lord of Elijah. Or follow Baal who their rulers worshiped. And the people said nothing.
Isn’t this true of us also? Can’t you see your own story in the people of Israel? When we are faced with having to make a choice that we rather not make, we stay silent. Thinking that by staying silent we will save the skin of our teeth. Or by staying silent we avoid having to make a decision, when really not making a decision is a decision.
Now Elijah found himself having to make a choice of his own - to go and answer God’s question or to ignore God. He chose to answer. What started out as a list of grievances became a holy moment where God sent him out again, renewed for the task ahead.
How do you make choices?
Prayer: Lord, you do not force us to listen to you or to be in relationship with you. Instead, you offer us an invitation, over and over again. Help us to choose to follow you with all we have and with all we are. Amen.
Wednesday: “Go” - 1 Kings 19: 15-18
We all have moments like Elijah where we become discouraged. Moments that we feel disconnected from God. The question is what we do with those moments. For Elijah, he fled, but then he listened for God and responded. For others, the moment of discouragement can become a moment of disconnection from our Holy God.
The truth is, we desire to be connected to God. It is what we are made for. We want experiences with God. But when God does not live up to our unexamined expectations we don’t know what to do.
I was listening to a radio program this week that proposed this - when we feel like we don’t have the words, like we don’t know what to do, we still show up. We still show up for worship. We still show up for prayer time. We show up like Elijah showed up. Because sometimes in the showing up we experience the presence of God in a new way.
What do you do when you are discouraged? How do you stay connected to God?
Prayer: Lord, all too often we turn away from you, but Lord we trust and believe that you do not turn away from us. Thank you, O Lord, for not giving up on us. Feed our spirits when we do not know what to say or do, Precious Lord. Amen.
Thursday: “Mantle” - 1Kings 19: 19
One of the gifts that God gave the prophet Elijah is that he was to raise up a new generation of prophets through Elisha. Someone to pass his mantle on to. Someone to teach about the ways of God.
However, if we are not careful we can turn even the passing of the mantle into an unrealized expectation. Sometimes we expect the way God showed up for someone else to be the same way God shows up for us. What would have happened if Elijah expected Elisha to have the exact same experience with God that he had? Or if he demanded that he do everything the same way that he did? It could have made the passing of the mantle into a burden instead of a promise.
We need to be careful to walk the line between raising up new leaders and placing the burden of our unneeded expectations on them.
How can you be raising up a new generation of leaders?
Prayer: Lord, we thank you that as part of the body of Christ we are to be constantly raising up leaders to come alongside us. Encouraging others. Helping them to live into their gifting. Equip us to pass on the mantle, dear Lord, all for the sake of your Kingdom. Amen.
Friday: “Set Out” - 1 Kings 19: 20-21
Sometimes our own expectations of ourselves can get in the way as well. Notices that Elisha seemed to have some reservations about following Elijah - as I’m sure any of us would. Often we can let our own selves get in the way when we think that we are not good enough, skilled enough or worthy enough for that which God is calling us to.
But Elijah persisted.
God persisted.
And Elisha eventually went with Elijah.
We give up on ourselves far more quickly than God ever gives up on us. Let us not let the expectations we have for ourselves block what God is doing.
How can our own expectations block the movement of God in our lives?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for calling us. For using us. For not giving up on us. Build us up and send us out, we pray. Amen.
Preparing for the Worship:
In order to prepare our hearts for worship next Sunday you are invited to read - Proverbs 11: 24-25 and Luke 6: 27-28
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