Being in a relationship and following
the will of God in our lives can be a tough task. Ask Elijah . . . called by God to bring some
common sense into the children of God who were slipping off into the opposite
direction of God and God’s will . . . there was some reluctance on the part of
Elijah to do God’s will; but, God assured him that everything would be
okay. So, onward went Elijah to do God’s
will. In doing God’s will, Elijah upset
the wrong people . . . made them mad . . . and, had to hightail it out of there
for his own life. Not quite what Elijah
thought God had in mind when God said that everything would be okay.
Upsetting the powers that be had
Elijah on the run for his life.
Complicating matters were the drought and famine that inhabited the land
because of the people’s unfaithfulness.
There was no food. This did not
seem like the life of one who was appointed to do God’s will. Fearing for his life and hungry, Elijah ran .
. . and, God came through. First, God
had ravens—an unclean bird to the Jews—bring food to Elijah to eat. It is amazing how one will bend and break the
rules when one is hungry enough. But,
God provides.
Then God tells him to go to the
community of Zarephath—a Gentile community—to seek refuge and a place hard
struck by the drought and famine. God
instructs Elijah that there will be a widow there who will feed him during this
time of hardship. Of course, it happens
. . . Elijah goes to Zarephath and comes upon a widow gathering sticks. Elijah asks her to bring him drink and
food. Elijah is shocked by the widow’s
response . . . she is gathering sticks to fix a fire to prepare a meal for her
and her son . . . their last meal as she only has enough flour to barely
themselves. It is their last meal before
they die.
Again, this is not quite the treatment
the prophet expected when God said that God would take care of everything. God sends him to a widow who barely has
enough to feed herself and her son . . . to a widow who is preparing her last
meal before dying. I imagine Elijah was
having a moment of doubt about the intentions of God . . . wondering whether or
not God was playing with a full deck of cards.
Despite whatever doubt there might have been, Elijah insists that the
woman do just as she had planned and to bring him some food to eat . . . God will
take care of things, he assures her.
And, sure enough, God does . . . God
provides plenty of food to feed herself, her son, and Elijah . . . the jar of
flour and the jug of oil never empty until God brings rain upon the land—nearly
two years later.
But the story doesn’t end there.
A while later, the widow’s son grows
ill and eventually dies. She is
angry. She is confused. She accuses Elijah of using her son’s death as
a reminder of her sinfulness. Suddenly
she has doubts about what is happening despite the unending supply of food she
has to eat. Needless to say, Elijah is
caught off-guard by the turn of events.
This is definitely not the way one pays back another for hospitality. He wonders what God is doing . . . “O
Lord my God, have you brought tragedy upon this widow I am staying with, by
causing her son to die?”
In anguish, Elijah takes the boy to
the room where he is staying, lays him upon the bed and breaks down
crying. He cries out to God and asks
that God “. . . let life return to him!” Over
and over again, Elijah cried out to God to bring the boy to life . . . and, God
does.
This is probably not a story that we
are going to go out into the world and use as an evangelism tool . . . use as
something to get people to drop everything that they are doing and jump into a
relationship with God through Jesus. It
is not an easy story to listen to. It is
a story that is filled with hardship . . . filled with questions, lots of
questions . . . filled with doubt when it comes to being in a relationship with
God. It is a story that seems to turn
every time that God steps up to help as promised . . . turn for the worse. It is not a story that makes us all jump up
and down with glee . . . it is a story that makes us step back and consider our
own journeys of faith . . . that makes us think of our own doubt in the face of
faith.
Since all relationships—human or
divine—are based on honesty; then we need to be honest with ourselves and with
God . . . there are moments in our lives when we have our doubts about God and
our relationship with God . . . that we have doubts in the face of faith. Let’s admit it . . . we all do.
In this day and age of reason and
science, I have encountered many folks over the years who question the
miraculous side of the scriptures. They
have a difficult time accepting the miracles that they read in the scriptures
as actually happening the way that they happened. They want explanations . . . they want to know
how these things happen . . . how does this magic happen? Like the magic they witness from a magician,
they know that it is an illusion or a slight of the hand . . . that there is
some trick to the miracle. And, the
truth of the matter is . . . they have some doubt when it comes to their
faith. As much as they want to fully jump
into their faith with two feet, they are a little leery that things are not
quite what they seem.
I am sure that is the way Elijah
felt. God promised him that everything
would be fine and all Elijah got out of the relationship was one great big mess. It seemed that every time God fixed one mess,
Elijah was stepping into another. I am
sure that Elijah had his doubts about this God-relationship.
I am sure that the widow felt the same
way. A widow was not a status in life
that any person wanted in Elijah’s time . . . it was a time of hardship and
survival. When the widow encounters
Elijah she is in the process of preparing the last meal for herself and her son
before dying. She probably thought
Elijah was a pompous fool for asking her to provide for him when she barely had
enough for herself. But, she bit the
bait . . . what did she have to lose?
And, God came through and she started to believe . . . then her son
dies. Nothing added up. She began to have her doubts about this
God-relationship . . . about Elijah.
I have a friend through my work at the
university who seemed to have the golden life.
He was the best in his field . . . respected by his peers and his
employees. He lived a blessed life . . .
enjoyed it to the fullest . . . and, everything seemed to go his way. He was a person of strong faith . . . and, he
did not take for granted the blessings of his life. Then, one day, he woke up and did not feel
right. He had a difficult time getting
through the day at work, and soon found it hard to go to work. Everything seemed to be falling apart. He had to take a leave of absence from his
work as he sought out answers to his health problems going to see medical
experts all over the United States. The
bright world he lived in was growing darker and darker . . . he began to
question and wonder about why God was letting this happen to him; after all, he
was a person of great faith. He was
beginning to have doubt . . . doubt in the face of his faith.
It has been a little over a year since
all of this happened to my friend. His
health has improved, but it is not back to what it once was . . . he is still
having difficulties. He is back to work,
but it is not as robust as it once was . . . he has been limited in what he can
do. The darkest of his world has gotten
brighter, but the shadows still lurk on the edges of his life. And, he admits that he had his doubts. He also admits, that despite his doubts he
went forward in his journey . . . he went forward because if he didn’t he knew
he would die. What else did he have to
lose? He chose to move forward on the
promise that God would never abandon him.
Going back to that honesty thing . . .
we all have doubts. And, just because we
have our doubts doesn’t mean we are any less faithful or loving towards
God. It means we have our
questions. It means we are in the thick
of the relationship . . . in the throes of relating openly and honestly with the
one who loves us . . . being open and real . . . being who God created us to
be. Deep down we believe that God will
take care of us and all of our needs; but, we have those moments when we wonder
. . . Elijah wondered . . . the widow wondered . . . and, God came through with
the promise that has been made to all of us.
God never left.
Being in any relationship is not easy
if it is a “real” relationship. It is
not a smooth ride . . . there are always going to be bumps in the road . . .
there are questions and concerns . . . there is doubt. Despite all of that, there is also the love
that connects. And, because of that love
we step through the difficult times, survive the bumps, work through the
questions and concerns, and admit that there is doubt. And, despite it all, we do not quit. God does not quit on us, and we should not
quit on God. No matter how difficult
life can be . . . God will always stand beside us, carry us, and take care of
us. There can be faith even in the face
of doubt . . . you just have to believe.
God is with us. Amen.
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