Moments in the life of a Pastor

1 Kings 19:8-12

 Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.  And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”  Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Elijah had a great victory on Mount Carmel but then comes the valley of despair, the incredible low of wishing only to die. Defeat is often on the heels of victory for those who take their eyes off of God, those who trade faith for fear. Even when he wanted to give up God loves and care for Elijah, sending an angel with food and water and the instruction to sleep and rest. God knows our human limits our need for food, water, and rest something we can neglect in the battle. After being physically strengthened  God sends Elijah on a journey to get alone with Him. He leads Elijah back to a mountain this time it is the mountain of God, Mount Sinai, for a different mountain top experience. Elijah had experienced the power of God on the mountain, he had seen the fire of God yet he had missed the heart of God. Elijah had to travel to be alone with God, it took effort and time something we think should just naturally happen. God invites us but it takes a willingness and determination to come away and be alone. Being alone with God is a journey from loneliness to aloneness from death to life.

I love the picture of the mountain of God, not only could it be found but it was accessible; it was big, majestic, immovable, a solid rock  in an uncertain time.  Where will you go when victory turns to failure and success evaporates into despair? Which mountain will you turn to, will it be God?

And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” I love God’s question and I think we need to answer that question as we get alone with God what are we doing here? What is our goal in being with God? Many of us have an agenda in our time with God we are after something?  Is your goal to spend time with God or to get something from God? It’s about the relationship, about being with not getting from.

We often want the power of God to show up in the loud big flash, because that is where we believe the power is. God often shows up in the quiet whisper, and we fail to see the power of His whisper. Man’s first encounter with God was a gentle whisper, and the gentle breath of God caused man to become a living being! There is not only power in His gentle whisper but there is life. Like Adam we too are dead and need the gentle whisper of God to resurrect our lives.

What brought Elijah out of his cave was not the wind, earthquake, or the fire but the gentle whisper of God. May be like Elijah you’re stuck in your cave, it could be a cave of despair, grief, loneliness, anger, bitterness, pride. It really doesn’t matter what you cave is they are all the same, dark places where we end up holed up, places that God did not intend for us to do life in. God invites you out of your cave into His presence will you respond to His gentle whisper.

Psalm 46:1-3; 10

1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam    and the mountains quake with their surging…..6 The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble!…….

10“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,    I will be exalted in the earth.”

Three words summarize how most of us spend our lives, hurrying, worrying, & scurrying.  If God is really in control then why are the lives of His children characterized by hurrying, worrying, & scurrying? Why is there so little peace? We see the opposite in Jesus life, He spent time alone with the Father and His life was under control. There were many storms in Jesus short life yet He was directed and controlled by the Father not the circumstances. He had peace in the chaos.

There is no instant formula for spiritual maturity, and in our desire for a quick fix, where we want God to instantly change our circumstances because we are uncomfortable we need to remember there is no instant pill. Verse 1 says there will be trouble, and we need to embrace the reality of trouble, for this is where we mature. Growth comes through stress, strain, & struggle as we embrace living the Christian life. Trouble comes and goes it ebbs and flows like the tide but notice who is ever present, God. Our refuge is found in the constant and consistent, God, the foundation of knowing He is always with us. I do not have a fair weather God but an all-weather one, a God who is not only there in the storm, but in control of the storm. Psalm 46:10 encourages us to reflect on what God can do in the face of what we are unable to do. like a dimond being formed needs pressure or gold being purified needs fire so the chaos can refine us. There has to come a piont where we come to the end of strength and discover His power. When we stop trying and start trusting, stop seeing and start believing. I see several responses to time alone with God when we stop striving in our weakness and embrace His power in the stillness.

1. I WILL NOT FEAR

Fear or Faith it can’t be both. Fear affects our focus and focus determines where we place our eyes, either on faith or fear on God or the circumstances. Do you see the problem or the problem solver? It is “God’s past work” that provides calm for “our future.” Scripture says “Know that he is God” fear makes things uncertain but faith gives us an assurance, we know. Faith gives us a place to anchor to in the turmoil. Know it, not merely intellectually, but practically, spiritually, and emotionally. He is your God, He is the ruler the all-powerful Creator of the Universe. Because of Him I do not have to fear.

2. I WILL NOT BE MOVED

As your world crumbles around you the call from Scripture is don’t flinch, stand still, not because of a self-made confidence, not because you are the most composed person in the face of disaster, not because “you’ve seen it all.” Not because of who you are but who you know.

3. I WILL BE STILL

Maturity does not come through our frantic activity to fix the problems, we can not change ourselves, it comes through God’s activity in our lives. Spiritual serenity is not the absence of problems but the presence of God. This spiritual calm does not come from a lack of troubles but from a steady deep reflection on the God who intervenes. The shaking mountains and agitated waters are the difficulties and problems we face in this uncertain life. Even what seems to be secure and immovable, the mountains, shake. The only certainty and security is found in a relationship with Jesus. Yet we crave security often putting our trust in the shaky mountains like our health, wealth.

4. I WILL TESTIFY

I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. When we know God we can share Him. When we experience His presence in the chaos we proclaim His praise.

Are you alone in the chaos or alone with God? He is bigger that the chaos. Is it time to be still, and know that He is God?