Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Lessons From Elijah

In this past Sunday's message I talked about Elijah listening for God in the midst of the noise surrounding him. This is a time of year when the noise of life can get extremely loud and we can miss the very voice we are seeking to hear. There are five key lessons to learn from Elijah in 1 Kings 19.

1. Positioned Correctly It seems Elijah knew he needed to hear from God, and needed help from God. Rather than simply keep going in the situation he found himself, he took time to get himself positioned to be able to hear God. I am not saying we need to go off to a cave and listen for God, although that might be it. In the midst of all the noise of life we need to find a place, time and way to connect with the God who loves and calls us.

2.Seeking to Hear Elijah not only gets in the right position to hear God, Elijah seeks God. Once positioned well Elijah could hear God ask why are you here? God knew Elijah was looking for God and for peace. Sure we look for it, but where and from whom are we seeking it? Elijah did not complain to someone else, did not give up of God. In the midst of the noise and chaos, Elijah sought after God.

3. Being Real With God There was no sense of Elijah trying to fool God. There was no pretense of being religious and having it all together. Nowhere to be found was a proper address to God. Elijah simply told God where he was at. The best summary I can offer is Elijah told God, life just sucks right now.

4. Knew What He Was Listening For When the wind blew, the earth shook and the fire raged, Elijah knew those were not the voice of God. Interestingly there are other times in scripture when they were the voice or God, or the voice of God was heard in them. Yet it was the whisper after that contained the voice of God. Only by knowing the voice he was listening for was Elijah able to find what he was looking for.

5. Peace Does Not Mean Easy God tells Elijah to go back the way you came, he came from the people trying to kill him. Elijah seeks God for peace and in the imparting of peace God tells him to go back to the most dangerous place on earth for him. Further, God gives him a task which not exactly the easiest, anoint new kings in places that already have them, and anoint your successor. God says I have got this all covered and you are worried about things which you cannot possibly control. Simply follow what I ask you to do and peace will be your companion.


If you would like to hear the entire message go to: Noise: Hearing Peace

The question is not whether God is still speaking to us, the question is can we hear the voice of God in the midst of the noise. The offer of peace is there, along with the offer of hope, joy and love. I pray we will all have ears to hear what the Lord has to say.

No comments: