Pastor's Column 1/21/2024

PASTOR’S COLUMN

“…And as Elijah stood there the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountains. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn lose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face and his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing here Elijah?”      I Kings 19:11b-13, NLT

"From Chaos To Calm!”

Some challenges in life have a way of diverting our attention. There are moments when some obstacle may appear before us; causing our path to be blocked. In such a time we must pray for the courage to act sensibly, to avoid being overtaken by such unwelcome diversion. Elijah, the loyal prophet from the village of Tishbi, spent a good portion of his life confronted by difficult circumstances. Undaunted by forces, which were much large than he, Elijah stood up to the false prophets, who misled the people, and corrupted the moral and religious life of the nation. Elijah began his prophetic ministry, as some prophets did during his era, among a group or class of other prophets. Often, such dedicated heralds of God, would travel together; but, rarely did some, become very public. Elijah was the exception. Elijah repeatedly said, “He alone was left.” This meant, Elijah was the only prophet from his class of prophets, who remained loyal to God. One by one, the other prophets declined the challenge of taking their witness to the crowd. In publicly confronting the king, queen, false prophets; and compliant people of Israel, who all disobeyed God: Elijah’s life was in great danger. When Elijah challenged the Canaanite gods, Israel worshiped; the prophet prevailed, and those gods were destroyed. However. Elijah fled. Overwhelmed by his work, and concern for his safety, he retreated to the desert; then to a cave. Chaos was all around the prophet, as he cringed. God came, but in a calm whisper.