Emmanuel Day 7

Emmanuel, God with us in the panic

 

“There he came to a cave and spent the night in it; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very zealous (impassioned) for the Lord God of hosts (armies) [proclaiming what is rightfully and uniquely His]; for the sons of Israel have abandoned (broken) Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I, only I, am left; and they seek to take away my life.”

1 Kings 18:9-10 (AMP)

 

Have you ever noticed that Christmas emotions seem to run at an all-time high? They aren’t usually those that stay steady or neutral, are they? In this season we’re usually found experiencing either inward peace on earth where all is calm and all is bright, or we instead find ourselves on the opposite end of the spectrum where the inward and outward chaos could make even the Christmas manger scene look quiet and peaceful. Maybe you’ve had times like I have where you’re at the height of Christmas joy and suddenly, to your surprise something sends you spinning off into a tizzy of the lowest sorrow, anger, annoyance, fear, or despair. I think we can learn a little something from Elijah here today that might help us through the holiday season, and in reality, will help us through all of our days here on earth.

In 1 Kings 18 we find Elijah in the midst of a battle with the prophets of Baal. It’s one of my favorite stories in the Bible, and if you’ve read it then it’s probably one of your favorites as well. Basically, Elijah leads the prophets of Baal up to Mount Carmel for a ‘battle of the gods,’ where they set up two altars, and Elijah brings the challenge of “whoever lights their altar on fire first is the true and living God.” Wouldn’t you have loved to have been there and seen this? Elijah lets the prophets of Baal go first and they spend the day crying out, cutting themselves, and calling on Baal to throw down his fire, and of course their false god never shows up. Then comes the moment where Elijah lets God show off a bit by drenching the altar of God with water, (that he first had to repair) and as he prays and calls upon God to show them His glory, the fire of God falls from heaven, consumes the sacrifice, and licks up every bit of water from the altar.

After a great victory on God’s behalf, it seems as though, all of the sudden, Elijah is thrown into a bit of an emotional whirlwind that sets him off, running for his life. After miraculously being fed by The Angel of the LORD and being given strength to run beyond man’s natural ability, he ends up at a cave by himself, seeking the presence of God. When asked by God what he’s doing there, Elijah declares that he alone is left of all who have served God. This desperate and fearful emotion seems out of place for such a bold prophet who had just been used to bring about a great victory for God. But really, I think we all find that those depths-of-despair moments that take us by surprise actually have their beginnings in a much quieter thought pattern within our minds. If we rewind our reading, back to the middle of the battle with the prophets of Baal, there’s this little, tiny line that jumps out at us.

“Then Elijah said to the people, 

“I alone am left a prophet of the Lord”

1 Kings 18

Here we see him, boldly and victoriously declaring to the nation of Israel that they are faltering, or more literally sinking beneath the weight of two opinions, and he cries out in that moment that he’s the only prophet of God left. It’s interesting that he uses the same phraseology with God two times in the middle of his cave-time desperation as well. The question begs to be asked, if he said it out loud three times, how many times had he thought it? It appears as though maybe the Israelites weren’t the only ones who were sinking beneath the weight of a heavy opinion or two.

Christmas blow-ups don’t usually begin in the moment we find ourselves consumed in the crazy. They begin in a much more secret, quieter place, rolling around in our thoughts for weeks and weeks. We know Biblically that we’re to love God with all of our mind, and to take every thought captive, and to think on the things that are true, right, lovely, noble, virtuous and praiseworthy. And I’m sure many of us are good at taking those big, struggling sets of thoughts to Jesus, in an attempt to let Him help us change our mindset. But let’s learn a lesson here from Elijah today, that the quiet, tiny, seemingly harmless thoughts need to be given over to Jesus as well.

Yet even wrong thought patterns, fear-driven moments, and feelings of being a hopeless failure, are no match for our Emmanuel. In the middle of Elijah’s panic God shows up with His gently, breezy presence, and doesn’t even chastise Elijah for his needless, fearful running-rampage. Emmanuel, God with us, meets Elijah just where he’s at, and friend, Emmanuel, God with us will meet us just where we’re at in each moment as well. God gives Elijah a new calling and reassures him that he’s not alone. I’m sure it was encouraging for Elijah to hear that God had 7,000 men who hadn’t bowed to Baal waiting in the wings, but even more encouraging must have been the gentle reminder that he had God with him as well. God sees our needs, hears our thoughts, and meets us with all of His strength, sustenance, and endless presence that we could ever desire.

Even in the places where we say the wrong things, think the wrong things, go in the wrong directions and set off running for our lives when God has called us to stand still and stay strong, He meets us. Even in those messed up places, Emmanuel shows up with His presence to strengthen us once more and to set us off running in the right direction, to do His will in His strength. God with us means He’s not just a Fairweather Friend. He’s not with us only when we’re in the right places of being good, strong enough, and brave. Emmanuel, God with us shows up to save, heal, strengthen, and restore when we’re in the most desperate places of weakness and wrong thought patterns.

So today, take some time to lay your mind, thoughts, and heart open before God. Let Him point out any tiny thoughts that He sovereignly knows may eventually spark a wildfire of fear, panic, or anger within you. But be encouraged that even if you can’t seem to clear out your wrong-thinking once and for all, Emmanuel, God with us can overcome even that. He will show up with all you need to get headed in the right direction once again with the comfort of His calling and presence.

Emmanuel; with us IS GOD