The prophet Elijah was on the run.  The "Rambo" like prophet had stood up against the ungodly forces of Ahab and Jezebel and had revealed the far greater forces of God over the followers of Baal.  But it had not accomplished what he expected.  The powers that be had not turned to God, and now Jezebel was out to get him.  He feels alone in his struggle, totally alone.  He cannot put aside what has happened.  He is alone, and he alone is the one able to set things right in Israel.  He suddenly loses courage and flees for his life.           

It is a familiar story if you really think about it.  It is easy when we meet opposition to run as fast and far as we can.  We feel defeated and despondent.  We can become soured or angry by what has happened.  We find scapegoats to blame for the state things have gotten into. 

We in the church are not beyond operating that way.  For some it leads into the kind of thinking that believes that we do not need the community of faith, into thinking that we can live the Christian life on our own, that we can be Christians in isolation. 

There are others who cling to past traditions.  If we cling to past traditions we become either unable or unwilling to accept change.  How often I have heard people say things which make we wonder if they come to church, not for spiritual fulfillment, but because they expect that the church is the one place which will never change.  When the church tries to deal with modern day issues they become disillusioned and angry, and threaten to withdraw their support. 

Some people become legitimately burdened by the cares of life.  Life is not always easy.  Being a Christian does not guarantee that we will not suffer.  Sickness, the death of a loved one, unemployment, marital discord, all the troubles of life that people face, can make them feel alone.  Is there a God?  If so, is God listening to me?  Does God care what is happening to me?  Why do I feel so alone in all of this? 

That was how Elijah was feeling.  He had reached a point of hopelessness.  He sat down under a tree, ready to die.  And there in the wilderness God took care of him, supplying him with food and drink.  Still Elijah kept running.  He hid out in a cave.  There God met Elijah.  Not as he might have expected, with a great show of power, but in the stillness and quiet, God spoke to him.

“What are you doing here, Elijah?” God asked him.  He poured out his complaints.  “The whole world is against me.  I alone have remained faithful to you.  They are out to kill me.”  God put things into perspective.  He was not alone.  He does not have to do it himself.  He needs however, to trust God and let go of the past. 

We sometimes have such experiences.  We crawl into a cave or a corner and moan out our complaints.  We have tried to listen to God’s call.  We have tried to live faithful Christian lives.  But nothing happens.  We are defeated and despondent.  We want God to speak clearly.  We want an answer and we want it now. 

Yet sometimes we discover an amazing thing.  God meets us there in our cave.  It may not be consoling.  We may discover that the consequences of our daily lives are not to be our primary concern.  God may order us out of the cave to get on with the job at hand.  We are not promised great victories.  We are simply to sow the seeds.  God is responsible for the results.   It is in listening in the stillness, in the quiet, that we begin to understand how God is at work in our lives. 

A friend, we’ll call him Rob, was telling me about a recent experience.  He is a sales representative who travels a great deal in his work.  His Christian life is important to him.  He tries to live it in his daily life.  Over the course of a few days at a conference he got to know a colleague quite well.  They spent time talking and ended up sitting together on the plane.  Before getting into their cars, they exchanged cell numbers.  On his way home Rob had a sudden feeling that he needed to call his colleague.  He kept talking himself out of it, but the feeling wouldn’t go away.  Finally he gave in and made the call, feeling almost apologetic.  After a few rings his friend answered, sounding a bit dazed.

“What made you call?” he asked. 

Rob explained, “I don’t know! I just kept thinking I should call you.” 

“It’s a good thing you did.  I fell asleep at the wheel.  When the phone rang, it jarred me awake just in time to miss an abutment.” 

“I can’t help but think,” Rob said to me, “that it was God calling me to phone.  But I expected it to be somehow more dramatic.  It was just a gentle nudge.  But if I hadn’t listened …”  

We need to listen.  We need also to act.  We live in a needy world.  What are you doing here?  Are you listening to God’s call?  Are you acting on it?