| Home Columns Another Brick in the World | Email | Print |
|
“Even in that cave, Elijah just wanted it all to end. He had had enough. Yes, even after Carmel! After witnessing the power of God, this man of God felt he just couldn’t take it anymore and wanted it all to end.”
The Ride
by Falvo Fowler
Have you ever had one of those moments? You know, the ones where you’re flying high, but then suddenly you feel like you’re going to drop? Those magnificent leaps of faith that move you at the speed of light, but then suddenly you’re standing still and falling?
I call such moments my “Elijah moments.”
Right after the miracle at Carmel, Elijah ran for his life and hid in a cave. Of all places! A cave? After witnessing the power of God?
For some reason, we’ve come to believe that being a Christian is a “get out of trouble, live life free, and prosper in joy” card—that once we claim Jesus as our Savior, things will work out fine. You see it all around you—people promising wealth and great times if you just become a Christian, so much so that the average Christian is led to believe that being a Christian is about having a perfect life and living in overflowing joy. But that’s crazy impossible in a world of sin. And it’s harmful, because every time you don’t feel perfect, or are not living a joyful life, you’re filled with guilt that eats away your faith like a nasty virus.
There have been too many Christians throughout the ages who have believed that they have to achieve a sinless, perfect life. I know that perfection isn’t what God wants me to achieve on this earth. I’m soaked in sin, and perfection won’t even be within reach till I get to heaven or meet God closer than Enoch met Him. However, with God’s help, excellence is attainable on earth. But because many of us strive for perfection rather than excellence, we feel like failures and just give up.
Even in that cave, Elijah just wanted it all to end. He had had enough. Yes, even after Carmel! After witnessing the power of God, this man of God felt he just couldn’t take it anymore and wanted it all to end.
Throughout history, we have expected that living a Christian life is supposed to be more than it is. But it’s simple and complex. It’s easy and difficult. It’s buoyant and depressing. It’s a paradox to our sinful way of thinking, perhaps because the true Christian life comes from God. Yet it’s the only solution, if we can only remember that it doesn’t ask us to be anything else besides ourselves.
Elijah, in his “Elijah” moment, forgot God’s calling. He expected something more than what had happened. He wanted change, but he couldn’t see past his face to recognize the glory of God. He couldn’t see that change happens slowly. But it does happen. The entire nation that professed God didn’t come back to Him; but the thousands who believed in God were validated in their belief and strengthened in their faith. They were strong enough to witness God to those around them.
So what does that have to do with our lives? We often take our leaps of faith, accept an altar call, or just look at ourselves in the mirror and hope that things will be different. And when they aren’t, we’re ready to give up. Change happens slowly. But it happens only if we choose to consistently release ourselves to God’s way of working things out.
And in that lies our challenge—our cave. We like to take over the controls rather than allow God to deal with things. We like to be able to assign our lives. And when that doesn’t work out, it’s easier to believe in an unfair God than to recognize our lack of faith. It’s often easier to lose our faith when we think we can gain the world, or at least its façade.
Though change usually happens slowly, if we look beyond our sometimes depressed state, we can see God validating our faith with His grace.
And like Elijah, if we just believe in the whispered promises of God, we can walk out of our caves, climb down from our mountains, and take a ride that beats all rides.
Sometimes, that’s all a Christian needs: to rest in His mercy, to live by His grace, and to enjoy the ride.