Good morning;

 I was reading this morning from the 19^th chapter of 1 Kings.  Elijah is near the end of his time as a prophet.  He has conquered the prophets of Baal and is now fleeing Jezebel who has put a price on his head for the damage he is done.  Elijah feared for his life and went out in the wilderness to hide and wallow in self-pity for a while.  He found himself sitting under a broom tree wishing he was dead. “He asked that he might die, saying, ‘It is enough: now O Lord, take away my life for I am no better than my fathers.’ He lay down under the broom tree and slept.” (v.4) He was attended to by angels.  They brought food and drink and he slept some more.  The nourishment gave him the strength for a forty day journey to a cave on Mt. Horeb.

The Lord came to Elijah and asked, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  Elijah explains he has been zealous for the Lord, that Israel has forsaken it covenant and they are seeking to kill him.  God commands him “GO” out on the mountain where the Lord would pass by.  He passed by in a strong wind, earthquake and fire, but was not really present to Elijah except in quiet whisper.

The Lord spoke to Elijah again saying, “What are you doing here Elijah?”  After having experienced Gods care and mercy and the quiet whisper of God’s voice, Elijah’s answer did not change.  He repeats the very words of his reply before his encounter with God.  God’s answer to Elijah’s reply is also the same – “GO!! Continue in your calling.  Do what I have set before you to do.”

I arrived in my office this morning feeling much Elijah must have felt sitting under the broom tree – exhausted, maybe a little down, wondering about the future of the ministry of God’s church that has been on the edge of success and growth for so long and yet it has remained just beyond our grasp.  Many have been zealous for the Lord and yet all the pieces have not yet fallen together in God’s way and will and time.  I ask myself, “What are you doing here, Pete?”  I reflect for a few moments and offer answers to myself – mostly in the form of questions to myself and in prayers and questions to God.  In a quiet whisper, the question arises again, “What are you doing here, Pete?”  My answers are the same and Gods’ reply is the same.  “Go!!  Continue your calling.  Do what I have set before you to do.  I will accomplish what I have set to accomplish in my way, my will and my time.  You just GO and do your best.” 

So today I will try to pick myself off the floor of the wilderness and get out from under to broom tree and be about God’s business in the best way I know how.  (WOW!! That’s a lot easier to write than is going to be to put into action.  But these kinds of things usually are).

I ask you today to join me on the journey.  Let’s pick ourselves up off the floor of our self-made wildernesses and crawl out from under our self-built broom trees and GO!  Let’s journey together and encourage one another to do the best we can for God, to continue our calling, and do what He has set before us to do.  Maybe if we journey together, the journey won’t be quite so daunting.  Let’s reach one hand out to each other and then raise the other hand to God, hold it tightly and let him lead us in His way and will and time.  Amen and Amen.

Have a great week!

Rev. J. Pete Hyde
Santa Rosa Beach Community Church
850-267-2599