Reason #848
I have eaten out dinner every night this week. When my weekends are thrown off, the week pays for it. All day, I kept thinking it was Friday, and all day, I was wishing it was.
Elijah got to witness one of the biggest miracles of the old testament if you ask me. Standing on Mount Carmel, He watched fire fall from Heaven and consume an alter covered in water. Elijah saw God work in an incredible way. He got to experience God do a mighty act before His very eyes. A God who proved His power and worth in a way that was completely undeniable, and I just have to think that when Elijah walked off that mountain, his faith had increased 10 fold. There was no way Elijah could ever doubt God's hand at work after seeing that, and I can't even imagine what it must have been like to be the one who got to participate in such a miraculous, incredible event
But Elijah walked off that mountain and he was met with a threat. That's life for you. The moment you get off the mountain, you're dealt a low blow. And this time, it was Elijah's life. That's how the world works, you know. Always trying to take away your life from you at any moment. And so even though Elijah had just witnessed God's power in an awesome way, even though he had been chosen to assist God with an event of such magnitude that it would go down in history, Elijah freaked out. If you're like me, you're thinking, "Really? Did you not just see what happened up there? I am pretty certain that if God was willing to go to those lengths to use you and display His glory with fireballs from Heaven, he will have no problem taking care of you from here on out." But Elijah didn't think so. The moment the challenge was presented, his spirit fell. It was as if he was defeated and after running away in fear, he was fed up. He said, "I have had enough, Lord...Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” (1 Kings 19:4)
It's easy to give up quickly. Easy to forget, isn't it? But even in his moments of frustration, in his very human, very impatient and very ungrateful moments, God shows Elijah tenderness. He sends him food for nourishment, lets him lie down and rest, and leads him on a 40 day journey to Mount Horeb. I don't know if Elijah knows why he is travelling 40 days. I don't know if he even really wanted to make the trip. But Elijah followed God for 40 days not knowing what was ahead. He knew he was on a journey, and that's about it. Yet at the end of his journey, he ended up at Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. Little did Elijah know, God had brought him there so that He could, once again, appear to Elijah in an incredible, awesome way. God still had big plans in store for Elijah.
Sometimes we see and feel God in really big ways. Those mountain top moments. You know, those moments when your heart skips a beat, and you get chills on your arm. There's an overwhelming peace, and you just know with all your heart it's Him. It's not fireballs falling down from Heaven, per se, but it's just as good. Because being in the presence of God is incredible. Seeing Him work in move in awesome ways is priceless. But there are moments when we walk off of that mountain and all of the sudden, we've lost Him. We can't see or feel Him like we could when we were on that mountain, and we begin to feel like Elijah. We throw our hands up and we say, "Enough! Get me back on that mountain, Lord. I want to be back in your awe-inspiring presence, witnessing you act and move in big ways. I want to be a part of that again. I don't like being down here in the mess and mundane of life. I don't like facing these trials." But the off mountain experiences are valuable, too. It's those journeys that really stretch our faith. It's those periods where we really have to sink in and commit to keeping the faith. Because when we're off the mountain, God is moving us. Who knows where, besides Him. And so we have to follow. We have to keep trekking even if we'd rather turn back or simply sit down. God is leading us forward. Leading us closer to Him. Giving us an opportunity to experience Him in another mighty way. And although we don't know how long the journey is, we can trust that the end result will be worth the walk. The path to Mount Horeb might be long, might be frustrating, might be lonely or really hard, but in the end, we encounter God in a most incredible way and we find out that He still has big plans in store for us... and He always has.
#848 - Because the trek from one mountain to another leads us closer to the Lord.
"The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” - 1 Kings 19:11
Elijah got to witness one of the biggest miracles of the old testament if you ask me. Standing on Mount Carmel, He watched fire fall from Heaven and consume an alter covered in water. Elijah saw God work in an incredible way. He got to experience God do a mighty act before His very eyes. A God who proved His power and worth in a way that was completely undeniable, and I just have to think that when Elijah walked off that mountain, his faith had increased 10 fold. There was no way Elijah could ever doubt God's hand at work after seeing that, and I can't even imagine what it must have been like to be the one who got to participate in such a miraculous, incredible event
But Elijah walked off that mountain and he was met with a threat. That's life for you. The moment you get off the mountain, you're dealt a low blow. And this time, it was Elijah's life. That's how the world works, you know. Always trying to take away your life from you at any moment. And so even though Elijah had just witnessed God's power in an awesome way, even though he had been chosen to assist God with an event of such magnitude that it would go down in history, Elijah freaked out. If you're like me, you're thinking, "Really? Did you not just see what happened up there? I am pretty certain that if God was willing to go to those lengths to use you and display His glory with fireballs from Heaven, he will have no problem taking care of you from here on out." But Elijah didn't think so. The moment the challenge was presented, his spirit fell. It was as if he was defeated and after running away in fear, he was fed up. He said, "I have had enough, Lord...Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” (1 Kings 19:4)
It's easy to give up quickly. Easy to forget, isn't it? But even in his moments of frustration, in his very human, very impatient and very ungrateful moments, God shows Elijah tenderness. He sends him food for nourishment, lets him lie down and rest, and leads him on a 40 day journey to Mount Horeb. I don't know if Elijah knows why he is travelling 40 days. I don't know if he even really wanted to make the trip. But Elijah followed God for 40 days not knowing what was ahead. He knew he was on a journey, and that's about it. Yet at the end of his journey, he ended up at Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. Little did Elijah know, God had brought him there so that He could, once again, appear to Elijah in an incredible, awesome way. God still had big plans in store for Elijah.
Sometimes we see and feel God in really big ways. Those mountain top moments. You know, those moments when your heart skips a beat, and you get chills on your arm. There's an overwhelming peace, and you just know with all your heart it's Him. It's not fireballs falling down from Heaven, per se, but it's just as good. Because being in the presence of God is incredible. Seeing Him work in move in awesome ways is priceless. But there are moments when we walk off of that mountain and all of the sudden, we've lost Him. We can't see or feel Him like we could when we were on that mountain, and we begin to feel like Elijah. We throw our hands up and we say, "Enough! Get me back on that mountain, Lord. I want to be back in your awe-inspiring presence, witnessing you act and move in big ways. I want to be a part of that again. I don't like being down here in the mess and mundane of life. I don't like facing these trials." But the off mountain experiences are valuable, too. It's those journeys that really stretch our faith. It's those periods where we really have to sink in and commit to keeping the faith. Because when we're off the mountain, God is moving us. Who knows where, besides Him. And so we have to follow. We have to keep trekking even if we'd rather turn back or simply sit down. God is leading us forward. Leading us closer to Him. Giving us an opportunity to experience Him in another mighty way. And although we don't know how long the journey is, we can trust that the end result will be worth the walk. The path to Mount Horeb might be long, might be frustrating, might be lonely or really hard, but in the end, we encounter God in a most incredible way and we find out that He still has big plans in store for us... and He always has.
#848 - Because the trek from one mountain to another leads us closer to the Lord.
"The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” - 1 Kings 19:11
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