The Journey

“The Lord said to Elijah: 'Leave here, go east and hide in the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. You shall drink of the stream, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there.'” 1 Kings 17:2

There is an enormous difference between hiding from God and hiding with God. Most of our lives, even after we have experienced God's love directly, we hide from God. Aware that God is demanding, we get busy about many things in order to avoid listening to God, and changing our lives. Unfortunately, for those who have been on the Way for a while, there is no hiding from God long term. God will be God and until we accept God's direction on a daily basis, we will be frustrated.

Elijah, on the other hand, listens to God, warns Ahab that no rain will fall upon the land of Israel until the people repent, and then goes East and hides with God. Not only will Elijah have water to drink and food to eat, God will be with him as long as he listens and obeys, and the same promise will be ours as long as we are willing to live the Gospel, and announce it with power.

The journey or the pilgrimage to which every believer is called is simple but difficult. Elijah teaches us to let go of our security, and trust that God will provide us with what we need to live. Trusting God, however, is a great challenge, because so many people seem to live well and happily without the burdens or the challenges of the Gospel. Ahab, believing his power as King was enough to make him prosperous and secure, ignored Elijah, worshiped Baal and exposed all of Israel to God's wrath. Only after Elijah demonstrated that he was God's prophet by challenging the prophets of Baal, was Ahab willing to submit himself to God again.

Today, pray to be open to whatever God asks.

Have you been tested by God and known God's promise as true?