Wandering Sheep and a Gracious God

For the past two weeks, our church has been studying the work of the prophet Elijah. Today's sermon impressed two main facts on me: firstly, even the best of us have our, umm, moments; and secondly, God is not always a God of wrath, but is a kind and tender Father even when we are having our, umm, moments.:-)

Obviously we have all heard the story of when alters were built for both Baal and the living Jehovah, and the fire came down from heaven and consumed Jehovah's alter. Then we know that Baal's priests were executed and Elijah prayed for rain, which came, and everyone lived happily ever after.

I truly wish that this true story could end here, but alas, in the words of Lemony Snicket, "My task is not to weave happy endings, but to tell you what honestly happened." (Sorry to all of you who don't read Lemony Snicket. It was a wild stab at humor.)

What happens to turn these circumstances sour? In a word, Jezebel. One of King Ahab's greatest mistakes was marrying a women who was not only wicked herself, but openly encouraged and even pressured her husband into committing great sin. What a somber warning for all of us, and a reminder that the worth of a virtuous woman is definitely above and beyond rubies.

So Elijah, who just hours before had fearlessly confronted King Ahab along with 450 of Baal's prophets, shook with fear with the threat of a woman. True, when Jezebel said that she was going to cut a man's head off, she usually wasn't joking, but doesn't God have the power to protect His own? You and I both know that He does, but I am sorry to say that Elijah lost his head (not literally, of course. I just mean to say that he was extremely distracted).

The Bible tells us that he ran for his life, which he didn't need to do, and eventually stopped under a broom tree to rest. What did he do next? He begged God to take his life.

This great man of faith, this beloved servant of God, gave in to despair like any of us would have. He felt like he was the last Jehovah follower in the world, and he wanted desperately to leave this lonely, wicked earth behind. Now, how did God handle his untrusting, distracted, wayward servant? He took pity on him. We are told that Elijah fell into a deep sleep, and was awakened twice by an angel to eat.

What can we learn from this incident? We can learn that while God is at times a God of wrath and judgement, He is also the God with the "still, small voice".

For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

~Psalm 103:11-14

Posted by Lydia