Hope for the Journey

Losing God

Fall can be a lot of fun. As the weather cools, the leaves change, and pumpkin spice lattes hit Starbucks, we are invited into a whole new world of sights, sounds, and flavors. But changing seasons can be a lot more fun than changes in other areas of life. Change, especially unexpected change, highlights how little we are in control of our lives. Ministry has been hard for me in a lot of ways, but one thing that has made everything more difficult is that God has been messing with my idols of comfort and control. I don’t like change; change brings a loss of comfort as my routines get disrupted. Change brings a loss of control as I fall into the swirl of the ever expanding ebb and flow of cause and effect. If I had things my way, I wouldn’t have moved to Indiana, back to Oregon, to North Carolina, then to Seattle, and now to Pennsylvania in my ministry journey. That’s a lot of change! Many of these moves came from things I couldn’t control, like job loss or the failure of fellow pastors. I wasn’t always sure what God was doing. In all honesty, I wasn’t always trusting God as much as a pastor should. In times of sudden change or transition, it can feel like God gets lost in the shuffle. Where is He? What is He doing? Will things ever get back to normal?

I’m reminded of the story of Elijah challenging the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18. At this point in the story, Israel has been without rain for years as a punishment for their idolatry. Elijah saw himself as the last faithful prophet among a confused and sinful people. So, what does he do? He puts the prophets of Baal and their false god to the test. The false prophets all gather and Elijah lays down his challenge. “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him,” he cries to the gathered crowd (1 Kings 18:21). The test is simple. Two altars are to be built, one for God and one for Baal. The first to respond to the cries of his prophets by burning up the sacrifice on the altar is the true God. Baal gives no response to the 450 false prophets that cry out to him for hours. God responds to Elijah’s simple prayer by burning up not only the sacrifice but the stones of the altar itself! This is enough to ignite a frenzy among the people and the false prophets are all put to the sword. Then the rain comes. After years of drought, Israel celebrates life sustaining waters from heaven. Now that’s the kind of change I can get behind! But things suddenly swing the other way. 

In the very next chapter, the king of Israel tells his wife, Jezebel, all that Elijah did and, instead of repenting for her false worship, she threatens to kill Elijah. Elijah is so upset by this that he runs off into the wilderness and asks God to take his life. What’s with the dramatic change? One moment Elijah is declaring God’s power and overthrowing the prophets of Baal. Next, he’s asking for death? Are we to believe the threats of a wicked queen have rocked his faith so much that he is willing to give up? I don’t think Elijah was afraid of Jezebel as much as he was afraid that God had abandoned him. After all, if the display of God’s power in the fire didn’t work, how could he ever expect to see Israel return to the worship of the true God? All Elijah’s plans and expectations are disrupted. Where was God in the mess of Israel’s continued unfaithfulness? How could He use a prophet who so utterly failed?

Finding God

If you continue through 1 Kings 19, you’ll see that Elijah ends up finding God in the mess. In fact, you see through God’s miraculous provision in the wilderness that God never left Elijah in the first place. Elijah didn’t fail, God just had a plan much bigger than Elijah could see from his limited vantage point. I’ve experienced the same realizations in the midst of my own dramatic shifts in life seasons. In fact, it's through the disruptions that God has taught me the most about His sovereignty, His loving care, and His never ending faithfulness. He has used these difficult moments to grow my patience, trust, and hope. When we lose the little comforts we surround ourselves with, when the illusion of control vanishes like a mirage, we find that the only firm footing is the God of all creation. 

Hope For Life’s Seasons

How do you respond to changes in life, especially those changes that are unasked for and unexpected? In the disappointments and frustrations, turn to God and you will find Him right where He always has been and always will be: the Ruler over all, the Friend for the journey, the Lover who will never let you go. We can have hope no matter the changes, good or bad, because we belong to the Changeless One, the One who stepped down into this chaotic world to pay the price for our sins and failures. We can trust in Jesus’ faithfulness even when our own, like Elijah and like your pastor, falters and stutters, because He has gone before us and goes with us. And one day He will bring us home.