RUNNING IN FEAR

Related imageJames 5:17 reminds me that Elijah was a man with the same human qualities that I possess...you possess.  Today in the reading of 1 Kings 19, I see the same weakness which we both share...FEAR.  We were created to experience love, security, purpose, and worship of God, but because of Adam and Eve's choice, wanting to be like God, we now are born with fear and insecurity as our primal emotions. 

Elijah has moved each time with a word from Jehovah, but when he gets the message of Jezebel's threat against his life, without a word, he runs "for his life". He runs south from Jezreel, Ahab's winter home...anywhere beyond the reach of Jezebel!  In exhaustion from his trip, he lays down under a scrubby Juniper tree with the request to the Lord that He let Elijah die. Elijah is weary and when weariness sets in, the spirit of fear is ready to move in as the next resident of hopelessness, next close buddy, to move into Elijah...you or me!  God graciously provides an angel, a baked cake, and a jar of water for Elijah.  Elijah is refreshed from the rest, cake, and the water and returns to his running for 40 days and nights to get to Mount Horeb/Sinai to hide in a cave.  Why he chooses that location, Scripture does not tell us.  Just as he is settling into the life of hiding and anonymity in a cave, "the word of the Lord came to him, and HE said to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?"

How like Father God to question us!  HE certainly knows why Elijah is in the cave, perhaps does the Lord God want Elijah to admit that he has run because he does not trust God to protect him any longer?  When God questions, it is His heart that you and I be willing to humble ourselves and confess our sin of disobedience.  Psalm 139 shouts loudly..."Cheryl, I have searched you, I know you. I know your thought before you even think it. I know your path. I know your lying down at night, and I am intimately acquainted with all your ways.  Cheryl, you cannot go ANYPLACE where I am not.  I even knew you before your parent's sperm and egg came together to form you in your Mother's womb.  Don't your realize that you are fearfully and wonderfully made and I know the number of days that have been set aside for your lifetime?"  I am so grateful that I am well known by the Lord God of Heaven and Earth!  I declare that I will trust in YOU with my whole heart and I will not lean into my own shallow and finite understanding.  Ever learning!  In process, still!  #IHAVETHREESONS

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

REHEARSALS

Image
  I wonder how much time do I give to rehearsing God's goodness and how He has intervened in my life to "save" me from myself?  How alike the Israelites I can be, complaining about what goes wrong, how it affects me, and what I lack.  As a Christ follower, I have the Indwelling Holy Spirit to give me remembrance NOT of my complaining and grumbling, but of a recall of God's faithfulness to me.  It is recorded in Psalms 78 and 106 that " They forgot what He had done, the wonder He had shown them", "They did not remember His power--the day He redeemed them from the oppressor...", "They did not remember Your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.", "But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for His counsel.", and "They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt...". Contrast with me, God's remembrance: Ps. 106:44-46, "But He took note of their distress
Read more

LAST THOUGHT ON LEVITICUS

Image
  For the first time in many years, I have enjoyed reading through Leviticus.  I have skipped it several times and read on.  This go round, I have sought to focus on some thoughts, words, phrases, or practices that God had instituted for the Israelites and their physical and spiritual well-being.  The Ten Commandments and many of the laws have real practical value for society and the Christ follower today.  The Lord God gave them a standard, a commandment, which is applicable for today, "You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees.  I am the Lord (Jehovah) your God (Elohim).  Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them.  I am the LORD."  Leviticus 18:4-5   My concluding thought from Leviticus is this admonition or commandment:  " You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own."  Leviticus 20:26.  Even though spoken to Israel, the truth of being holy is directe
Read more

ORDER AND DESIGN

Image
    I do not have OCD, but I do confess that I like order in my home.  Now that I am retired, I am not so much into spotless, but "picked up" and "kinda" clean. (Do not open drawers and closets!) I might go to more trouble when I know I am having company, but otherwise, I remove the clutter that seems to reproduce on its own.   When I began the reading in Genesis in January, I was again taken with the with the orderliness and design of God in creation, and have seen Him use Moses and Aaron to ORDERLY marshal the Israelites to move out of Egypt. How do you move some 600+ males and that is not even wives and children? Animals also?  They have been one year+ out of Egypt, and have been camped at Mt. Sinai where God has given them laws for their spiritual and physical welfare.  God gives Moses the design of the Tabernacle and Moses is able to bring together the workers to complete the Tabernacle.   The clip art at the top is the positioning of the 12 Tribes and the
Read more