1 Kings 18 & 19

Josiah Parr teaches from the life of Elijah

Josiah Parr

Have you ever been disappointed? Really disappointed because you had been pushing to see change and the very thing you pushed for seemed futile? Your Christian walk is probably littered with stories of being on the precipice of change and then seeing no change come. Now stop if you have said yes in any way to the previous sentence, this is for you.

1 Kings 18 & 19 tells a story of how Elijah came up the mountain for a showdown that was due to be the biggest spectacle the Israelite people had ever seen; the prophets of Baal versus the prophet of God. The prophets of Baal were screaming and cutting themselves calling for a god who never responded. Elijah mocks them saying, "perhaps your god is asleep" and ups the anti.

He gets the people to dig a trench and to fill it with water; water at this point was the most precious commodity because the land had been in drought since Elijah had prophesied three years earlier. He prays and fire falls from heaven and burns up the offering and the water. It even burns everything around it. The people of Israel killed all of the false prophets.

This was a showdown of epic proportions; I mean you could probably make a Hollywood movie from this part alone. Yet for me there is something that I have missed so often when I read this. Elijah came down the mountain and became afraid for his life. He prayed to God to kill him. The thing is Elijah had banked on the fact that big equals change; yet even with fire coming from heaven and rain falling on a land that had been in drought the Israelites didn't change the way he expected them to change. After the showdown the people may have risen up and killed all the prophets but the unrighteous queen was still on the throne.

Elijah had put God on show and yet the people didn't change.

It's incredible how disappointment can take us to our darkest place, a place where we become introspective and ineffective. Elijah had been used mightily by God, yet all he wanted to do was crawl up and die. To be honest I've felt exactly like Elijah. I've come back from amazingly life changing conferences where I've seen people's lives changed, but been so disappointed when it hasn't followed on into the rest of their life.

In this moment God was gracious and ministered to Elijah. God provided for his most basic needs. He fed him and gave him rest. We can learn so much from this. If you have been hanging around the place where you feel like giving up, maybe it's time to get some rest; to get a decent meal and that's not McDonalds either!

'Then the word of God came to him: "So Elijah, what are you doing here?"I've been working my heart out for the God-of-the-Angel-Armies," said Elijah. "The people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed the places of worship, and murdered your prophets. I'm the only one left, and now they're trying to kill me." Then he was told, "Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by." A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn't to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn't in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn't in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.' 1 Kings 19:9-12

God showed that he honours us even when we get it completely wrong. Elijah experienced the hurricane, saw the shattered rocks, yet God wasn't there. God wasn't in the earthquake or the fire. God was in the gentle quiet whisper.

This makes me wonder, was it ever Gods intention to have a big showdown in the first place. He uses the big, but there are also those moments in our life where He chooses to come in that still small voice. God re-establishes who he is in Elijah's life and he puts it all into perspective. It's an incredible revelation that was so painful; so long and drawn out, yet we can learn in an instant that big doesn't equal change.

Maybe you've been disappointed because you have looked over and over for God to move in a big way and you have missed that still small voice saying you can do it, keep going change is coming!