Waiting For The Whisper
July 15, 2012 1 Kings 19:4-15
Intro:
What are you doing here? That is a great question. One we could ask each other as we gather as a church. What are you doing here? Why did you come? It is a great question we could ask corporately as this church – what are we doing here, in our fellowship, in our community, what is our mission and purpose and direction? It is a question I’m going to put to each of these 3 people sitting up here, who have been asked to step into leadership on our Elder’s board and who have accepted the nomination – what are you doing here?
That is the question God asks Elijah, in 1 Kings 19:13. Some background to the famous story: Elijah has been running in fear of his life. Wicked King Ahab, and his even more wicked wife Jezebel, have been out to kill him. Elijah confronted him, confronted 450 prophets in a test of power on Mount Carmel, then labored deep in prayer for rain, then ran faster than a chariot, then had to flee for his life again into the wilderness where he lays down and prayed that he might die. I have had enough, Lord, he said. Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died. (1 Kings 19:4).
I have had enough, Lord. I’ve prayed that, have you? I haven’t asked God to take my life, but I’ve certainly felt I have had enough! Especially this last year. Did you know that we are exactly one week away from the 1 year anniversary of the flood that destroyed our basement and that sparked the whole year worth of additional problems and complications? Happy anniversary!
We’ve provided regular updates. I’ve appreciated Ken’s work on providing weekly updates in the building. And we are getting close to finishing. But it has cost us a lot as a church, and has taken a huge amount of effort and focus together. And as I read the story of Elijah again, I understood it in a deeper way. I have had enough, Lord! Elijah had been obedient, he had done and said what God commanded him, and here he is in the middle of the wilderness ready to quit.
1 Kings 19
4 Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. I have had enough, Lord, he said. Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.
5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, Get up and eat! 6 He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.
7 Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.
8 So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. 9 There he came to a cave, where he spent the night.
But the Lord said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah?
It was a miracle that got him that far – the bread and water God provided gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights; and there is the question: what are you doing here?
10 Elijah replied, I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.
It is a bit of a self-centered response, a bit of a poor me response, but that is why I sketched the background: it has been really, really hard for Elijah. Literally life and death. And God comes and speaks:
11 Go out and stand before me on the mountain, the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by,
let’s pause: what are we expecting? Feel the scene – the climax is coming, the fleeing, the miracles to get him here, the conversation begins, Elijah is standing on the mountain and God is about to show up. Will he see God like Moses did? Will an angel come and wipe his brow and let him rest peacefully? Will he see a vision of heaven?
and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
anyone want to stand on a mountain through that, especially after everything else that got him here in the first place? How long did the windstorm last? Elijah must have run back into the cave for shelter, hiding from the rocks being torn loose. But then the very ground under his feet starts to shake, and the cave roof over his head starts to rattle and dust is falling and he is sure he is going to be crushed but if he runs outside he’ll get bounced off the cliff. Then the fire, with the smoke and the heat sealing him inside the cave which no doubt seems like an oven.
And through it all, Elijah is wondering God, where are you? I’m sure he is yelling, screaming, crying, God, where are you???? And God was not there. That is what the text says: The Lord was not in the wind, or the earthquake, or the fire.
It doesn’t tell us how long Elijah suffered through, but we can imagine it was terrible.
but then…
And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
Here is what God is saying to me, and I think to us: obedience does not spare us from the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. We may have times cringing in the back of the cave. But hold fast. Hang on. Stand firm. Honestly, every time I have wanted to run away during the past year, every time I’ve prayed I have had enough Lord!, God has said stand firm.
And know, from the promise of Scripture and from history and from this story that the crisis will end, and the whisper will come. Do you know what God says to Elijah?
And a voice said, What are you doing here, Elijah?
14 He replied again, I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.
It is fascinating to me – we are right back where we started. Same question, same answer. None of the circumstances are any different. But Elijah IS different, as the story that unfolds in the next chapters show. So God speaks again:
15 Then the Lord told him, Go back the same way you came.
In other words, get back to work. God gives Elijah specific instructions, but essentially they boil down to this: get back to work, doing what I have called you to do, being who I have called you to be. Serving, ministering, prophesying, training new prophets, being the voice of God in the middle of a kingdom that is antagonistic and disobedient. Go back the same way.
And that, I believe, is what God is saying to us as a congregation. Get back to work. It has been hard, but the wind and earthquake and fire are starting to die down, and the gentle whisper is coming.
So while that is a longer introduction than I anticipated, it brings us to the 3 people sitting up here with me, with the same question: What are you doing here? As part of our process for appointing Elders in our church, we ask them to share a testimony, and next week we will meet and discuss and vote, but now let’s hear from each of them.
Testimonies
Conclusion:
What are we doing here? Well, here is the Elders’ approved trajectory for the next few months. Next week we meet to consider the motion to appoint these 3 to the Elders board. We keep working on finishing the reconstruction, and then we hold a big celebration likely toward the end of August. We rest, grieve, and allow God to refresh us in the meantime. Through that time, let us keep praying for the gentle whisper that tells us where to go next. And then we’ll gather in the fall for a church retreat, hopefully just after Thanksgiving, to pray and consider and set the next course (more details on that to follow). Then we will obey God, follow His leading, and keep praying, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
