[Membersandfriends] Saturday, September 25, 2004

Fri Sep 24 22:01:47 PDT 2004

The Upper Room Daily Devotional -- E-mail Edition
Brought to You by Upper Room Ministries
Saturday, September 25, 2004

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SENT BACK
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1 Kings 19:1-18 (NRSV)

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow." Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.

But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.

Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He answered, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away."

He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He answered, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." Then the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

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Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. . . . "I have had enough, LORD," he said.
-- 1 Kings 19:3-4 (NIV)
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EMPOWERED by God, Elijah fights against the prophets of Baal, predicts rain, and outruns Ahab's chariot.  However, Elijah is totally crushed when Jezebel swears to kill him.  His energy deserts him, and he plunges into despair.

God does not tell Elijah to pull himself together.  Instead, God provides rest, food, and water.  After enduring a 40-day trek to Mount Horeb and experiencing wild winds, earthquake, and fire, Elijah hears God's voice telling him to return the way he came.  His suffering is not over, and he still has an arduous journey ahead.  Yet we can see that God has been with Elijah during these dark times and still has important work for Elijah to do.

Have you ever been in such a dark place that there seemed no way out?  I once lived in a place where I struggled to feel at home, and after a year I moved away feeling like a failure.  However, several years later God sent me back to that very same place.  We all eventually encounter dark times; we find ourselves in dark places.  But God still has important work for us to do.

Prayer:  God our companion, help us always to feel your guiding presence, especially when times are difficult.  Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
"'I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, '. . . plans to give you hope and a future'" (Jer. 29:11, NIV).

-- Sue Morton (Strathclyde, Scotland)

PRAYER FOCUS: Someone adjusting to a move

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RELATED READING ...

Asking himself, "Where in the past week have I experienced community in Christ?," Stephen V. Doughty looks at community through a number of lenses in DISCOVERING COMMUNITY, focusing on the diverse ways and places Christian disciples grow. His book can bring us to a renewed sense of personal calling and a revitalized commitment to the mission and ministry of the church.  Exercises in each chapter invite consideration of our own sense of community and may be used in individual or group settings.
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/desc.asp?ep_id=30&item_id=12648

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The scripture quotation is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright (c) 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.