Sometimes it feels like Atlas got bored, looked around for a replacement, and dumped the world on our shoulders when we weren't looking. Stress from jobs, friends, family, pressures from school or work...they all come crashing down upon us and seemingly bury us alive, where we can’t see the light of day or get out.
There’s a story in 1 Kings 18 that encourages me when I’m so beaten down. Elijah got in a duel with the prophets of Baal, and they each set up an altar with a bull to be sacrificed. Then, they waited to see if Baal would burn up his altar or if God would burn up His. After Baal’s prophets failed (miserably and humorously), Elijah raised the stakes by having the people around him fill four large jugs with water and smother his altar. He did this not once, not twice, but three times. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to light wet wood, but it is unpleasant and frustrating beyond belief. There was so much water, the trench around the altar became a moat, holding all the run-off.
Elijah then prayed: “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” (1 Kings 18:36-37)
“Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.” (1 Kings 18:38)
Even when we feel like the fire in us, the Holy Spirit, has been snuffed out by the weight of the world and the pressures and stress we face, we have a God that longs to shine through the darkness. If we turn to Him and pray, we will achieve what we thought was impossible.
Ignition.
No comments:
Post a Comment