The drought breaks!

The drought was over! The rain was coming, the prophets of Baal were dead and the people had turned back to God. Elijah was so excited that he ran all the way to Jezreel, even outpacing the chariots of Ahab. What did he expect to see when he got there? Was Ahab going to get rid of the prophets of Asherah, take spiritual leadership in the land and in his own home and bring Jezebel into line? Would Elijah be received in style, welcomed as a hero and thanked for his hard work and persistence. Would Ahab repent and lead his people in the ways of God?

The answer to all of these questions is a resounding ‘no’! Ahab was concerned about his material needs not the things of God. He couldn’t wait to tell Jezebel all about the things that happened and what Elijah had done, and Jezebel saw red! Ahab had given up the leadership in his own house; it was Jezebel who called the shots. She immediately issued a threat against Elijah. The next she saw him she would kill him. Her plan was to drive him away, reduce his threat to her position and power.

What was Elijah’s response? A threat of a mere woman, a heathen at that, surely recent events would suggest that he would stay calm in the face of this threat. After all wasn’t she part of the same court that he had boldly addressed three years previously? Hadn’t God protected him in the desert, at Zarephath and at Mt Carmel? Obviously the God who protected him there would do so now. But Elijah didn’t respond with that assurance, he was afraid and he ran for his life! What a contrast to his previous behaviour. He didn’t wait for the word of God to come – he was off. He fled to the southernmost town in Israel, Beersheba, a town belonging to the tribe of Judah, the only tribe that had remained faithful to God, one that was safe from the clutches and influence of Jezebel. But he didn’t stop there; he went into the desert as far as Mt Horeb.

Why did Elijah run? Had God’s plans failed? Had Elijah assumed that the events on Mt Carmel would change everything and since they hadn’t did he consider himself a failure? Elijah had committed himself to God’s work; everything he had done was at God’s command and yet everything he had striven for had come to nothing. Things got worse instead of better. Ahab didn’t repent; he went back to his old ways as fast as he possibly could. Elijah was confronted with what appeared to be the failure of his own ministry. The courage that had stood him in good stead in the past now failed him; his sense of certainty at being exactly where God wanted him to be was gone along with his confidence. So he ran.

Have you ever felt like Elijah – done whatever God has told you to do, pushed yourself to the limit and beyond, put yourself out on a limb, only to have it cut off behind you? You have selflessly served others, suffered personal hardship and discomfort but instead of getting recognition and thanks you have been rejected or ignored and perhaps even falsely criticized and accused. It would not be surprising if this has been your experience; it has certainly been mine. The question is: how did you respond? Did you, like Elijah, head for the desert with your tail between your legs or did you wait to hear from God and when you heard move forward one more time? Elijah had reasons for reacting the way that he did, but there is no evidence to suggest that his behaviour was the result of obedience to God’s command. How have you responded when the reaction you received to your ministry was not what you expected?

At the time when Elijah was most needed he went missing. Perhaps if he had stayed those silent followers of God like Obadiah might have summoned up the courage to take a stand, maybe the people would have put their newfound worship of God into practice – but he didn’t. He took his servant and he headed south. For nearly 200 kilometres he headed toward the desert, this time not through a drought, but through a storm.

What was going through his mind as he ran? Was he questioning God, did he ask why? Why had God brought him to this place – he had been totally obedient but his mission had failed and his life was threatened. Instead of a victor’s reward he received a death threat. Why God – why did you let this happen? Elijah got to Beersheba and left his servant there, then he traveled a further day’s journey into the desert sat under a tree and complained. ‘Take my life, what use is anyway? Kill me now. I’m no better than all the other prophets, nobody listened to them and they don’t listen to me. They failed and so did I. Take my life now – I can’t face it anymore’.  Elijah was in a bad way, he was miserable, depressed and felt completely useless. But he didn’t need to go into the desert to die, Jezebel could have accommodated his request right there in Jezreel! He probably hoped against hope that God would reassure him and tell him that all was not lost and there was some greater plan that he didn’t yet know about and he, Elijah, was going to be mightily used in bringing it to pass. But God was silent.

The courage, confidence and sense of purpose that had led Elijah to Mt Carmel had gone. He was depressed. He had reached the end of his tether. He had fled from Jezreel, he had not waited on a word from God, but taking his servant he took off. This time there was no brook, no ravens to feed him, no widow’s home to rest in, no one to minister to or to receive ministry from, he was alone. And he wanted it that way. He didn’t even want the company of his servant, but left him behind as he went further into the desert and into his own misery. Elijah kept plodding on, possibly without any sense of where he was going or why he was going there and when his strength finally gave out he collapsed under a bush and cried out to God to take his life. This time this mighty man of prayer failed to get the answer he wanted.

Life is full of ‘what if’s’. If Elijah had stayed in Jezreel what would have happened? If he had waited to hear from God, if he had challenged Jezebel what would have been the result? If God had answered his prayer and taken his life in the desert would things have been different? Of course we don’t know the answer to these questions and we can probably look back on the events in our own lives and ask similar questions. What if I had made this or that choice, what if I had studied harder and gone to university, what if I had had traveled more, or prayed more, or accepted that opportunity to preach or share my testimony. Unfortunately, like Elijah, we may never know the answer to those questions and it is therefore essential that whenever we are called upon to make a decision that we wait until we hear from God. Elijah acted out of fear and disappointment, not faith or obedience. He may have missed the opportunity to bring about a revival in Jezreel because he didn’t wait to hear from God.

Be sure that as you confront the choices that come your way that you are not afflicted with the ‘if only’ condition that limits your response to the way you feel and the resources you have available. Remember that if God calls you he will provide for you and will also protect you. Don’t look back with disappointment and say ‘if only’ or ‘what if’. Listen for the voice of God and when he speaks courageously take him at his word and move in the strength that he will provide.