“‘I have had enough, LORD…Take my life.’ Then he lay down…and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel…said, ‘Get up and eat.’ A second time the angel returned…saying, ‘Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.’ There Elijah entered a cave…And the…LORD came to him saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah? Go out and stand’…And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains 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.… After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” 1 Kings 19:5-12
Elijah, one of God’s prophets, found himself exhausted, overwhelmed and fighting for his life from a queen who vowed to have him executed. He ran as far away as he possibly could to save his life. We read that 2 different times he fell asleep only to be awakened by a messenger whom God sent to strengthen his journey. From nap to nap, strength to strength he finally took refuge in the loneliness of a cave. Then God asked him the same thing that He asks you and He asks me when we retreat from life ‘What are doing here?’
Is it just me or do you seem to sleep more, eat less and retreat when life is overwhelming …exhausting…unstable as to what the future holds? When we find ourselves so frazzled from our fragmented and shattered circumstances do we even recognize when God sends messengers to strengthen us and encourage us? Do we focus on the ‘wind’ that tore into our lives and shattered the safe places in our hearts? I have a feeling that you, like me, have had plenty of times where the foundation has quaked and shaken, and the future seemed to be a burned-out wasteland. What do we do when the journey seems too much? How do we not only have the courage to come ‘out of the cave’ but look past the wind…the earthquake…and the fire? The same way Elijah did. We exchange the dark of the cave for the light of the Lord by seeking Him. We block out the noise of our circumstances and listen for the gentle whisper of the God over our circumstances. We create gardens of hope instead of tombs of despair.
When we need to be strengthened we enter the Garden of God and walk among the beauty inside the garden walls. There is a song that I play when I am feeling burdened for my friends going through tough journeys. It invites me to walk with Him in the garden where ‘Faith is rising up like ivy…Reaching for the light…Hope is stirring deep inside me…Making all things right.’ The Garden, Kari Jobe. It helps me remember that no matter who is experiencing the wind, earthquakes or fires of life, it is the Whisperer who holds our lives in His hands. I encourage you to listen to this beautiful song and exchange caves for gardens.
https://youtu.be/Y43Z0WJLDS4
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