Be Still

You can’t hear a whisper when you are running. You can’t experience a still small breeze when you are in constant motion. Some things can only be experienced when we are completely still both externally and internally. Elijah was a bold prophet of God. He didn’t appear to fear anything or anyone. He was outnumbered in his great showdown with the false prophets of Baal but he knew his God was real, mighty and would prevail. Soon after his victory, he received a message from the evil queen Jezebel who promised to have her revenge upon him. In my head, she sounds like the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz. “I’ll get you my pretty and your little dog too!” I don’t know if Elijah had a dog but it just sounds eviler when you threaten to get somebody’s dog. Anyway, this bold man of God takes off running away from the evil threatening to kill my dog queen. He ends up under this tree and proceeds to send out invitations to a glorious pity party he is about to start. He feels all alone, hopeless and defeated. He wants God to take him out of this world. Instead of killing him, God feeds him a pop tart and some OJ. In this scene, Elijah appears to be broken but he is not. He is just feeling sorry for himself. So, he gets up and takes off again. Many days later he is hanging out in a cave and is told the Lord is about to pass by. He steps outside and there is a great wind, earthquake and fire on the mountain but God is not in the loud and violent things. He finally hears God in a whisper or still breeze because now Elijah is broken and still. He is emotionally, physically, spiritually and relationally broken. Through this brokenness and stillness, he experiences and hears God’s voice. Through this cave experience, he is redefined and reassigned. He is no longer this bold in your face prophet of God but now he becomes a teacher and mentor to Elisha.

Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Many of you reading this feel as if you are in your own cave of despair. You may have started your time in this cave by trying to stay busy but every time you turn on the news the despair only deepens. You may have already started your own personal pity party while lying under your tree of loneliness and hopelessness. You may have tried to run away from your situation by binge watching Netflix shows or escaping into the fantasy world of pornography. Maybe, just maybe, you have found the still small voice of God. Maybe, you have realized that the business of your pre-COVID 19 life kept you from experiencing God’s love and peace. Maybe, you drug out some of the old hymns and feasted upon the old-time religion you cut your spiritual teeth upon. I’ve talked to a lot of people during this time of isolation and their experiences are fairly black and white. Some embraced it as a time to draw closer to God and their loved ones while others are barely hanging on. No one knows why this pandemic occurred but for us who know the Lord, we can grow in our dependency upon him. Don’t be like the pre-cave Elijah who was filled with self-pity, fear and hopelessness. Be like the cave dwelling Elijah, be still and know that He is God. Elijah never died and went to heaven in a chariot. The next time we see him, he is hanging out with Jesus and Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration. Let’s do the same today. Let’s be transformed from this decaying world and hangout with Jesus, the man of Peace. I still want to ask Elijah if he had a dog.

Jonathan Jones perfecthope.org