In-between
This was written especially for those who have had a great past and have since fallen off.
For context, this biblical narrative is found in 1 Kings 18 and 19.
INTRO
In the days of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, the Israelites had lost their way. They had adopted Baal as their God; this false god would be their idol !
The chosen people of God had turned their backs against him, and God sent the prophet Elijah to set them straight. (because how many know that when you’re called, sometimes that involves delivering bad news… not the easiest part of ministry, but a necessary one).
SHOWDOWN
So Elijah, the Prophet of the Lord confronts King Ahab and the false prophets and he sets up a big showdown on Mount Carmel. He says, “you guys really think Baal is it ?? you think This is the true and living God ?? we’ll see about that—”
So Elijah says, “you guys call on your god, and I will be calling out to my God, and the God who answers by fire— HE is God.”
so the Baal worshippers went first and they set up a sacrificial bull and called on their god from morning to noon and — [wait from what to what?]
from morning to noon! These guys were praying and shouting and dancing— worshipping the false god for hours!
(when sometimes we can’t even give God anything more than a 5 minute prayer…)
but they went on and on and on for so long that they were exhausted and what did they have to show for it?
they huffed and they puffed but Nothing happened. there was:
no fire.
no glory.
no evidence of God’s power.
-> because that’s what happens by the way when you’re searching for what God gives from alternate sources.
and this is what it’s like when:
people try to find the Love of God in empty vessels, in unfaithful partners, heck, some people turn to pets or try to have children to try to receive unconditional love.
now these may be reflections of God’s love, if you’re lucky (lol), but there’s no better place than the SOURCE to receive all that God has to give!
people try to find true happiness from shopping the mall/ amazon/ online shopping… and I get it; it feels good to treat yourself. but shopping as a source of happiness is unsustainable (unless you have endless amounts of cash… and even then, it’s not as fulfilling as you would think).
some people try to find self-worth in calculating likes, shares, number of views, followers… good luck with that one—
because people are searching for what God gives in alternate sources.
In Him, you will find
happiness
love
joy
peace…
and guess what ?! there’s an endless supply!
because he IS the fountain of Life!
***
Elijah knew this. and after witnessing their failure of praying to a fire-less god, it was now Elijah’s turn.
and so he built his altar and prepared the bull and had them pour water on it, and in the time it took for him to pray his two-sentence prayer, the power of God was on full display.
-> because how many know we serve a “fire” God ?!
and the God of Heaven, the true and living God, came through!!
and fire came down from heaven, and consumed the offering.
wow.
now I know this is an old-testament story, but I’m wondering: is anybody still praying for fire to come down from heaven? is there anybody out there with that big a faith??
and can I just stop and give Elijah some credit ? because it’s one thing to pray big-faith privately,
but to pray big-faith publicly is a whole ‘other thing !
***
Now, this was Elijah’s prayer:
God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel.
Answer me, so that the people will know you are God!!
and immediately after that prayer, FIRE came down from heaven, y’all!
It was so clear that this God was the true God that some people even converted. it says that the false prophets came to this conclusion: that “the Lord is GOD.”
but Elijah wasn’t done.
he went on to get all of Baal’s prophets captured and slaughtered— hey! don’t look at me! that’s kinda how things went in those old-testament days!
***
but you zoom out of the scene on the mountain and we realize that the story is bigger than just dead bodies on the ground and a living flame on the altar.
by the way, that visual alone points to the glory of God! because this was indeed a powerful move of God…
glorious.
iconic.
transformative.
this defied the laws of nature itself.
like, we thought it could only rain rain. here we have God Almighty making it rain fire. in the presence of the enemy…
So it was here at Mount Carmel that God showed up and showed off!
His presence was there! His glory was visible! The evidence was tangible!
The defeat of the enemy was real! and the Godliness of God was undeniable!
what a wonder it was on that mountain…
MOUNTAIN
in fact, let’s talk about that Mountain.
because it was there on the mountain that the Lord glorified himself.
Throughout the Bible, the mountain itself is representative of God’s presence and glory.
-it’s characterized by high elevation, high altitude… Of course, we know that God is everywhere, but when you’re up there, it almost feels like you are closer to God.
-also, it’s so high up, everything looks different from that higher perspective.
such is the experience when we climb higher spiritual elevations.
Ok but what is it that actually happens on the mountain?
In the Bible, we see Jesus go up to the Mount of Olives to pray; you see Moses go up Mount Sinai to receive the commandments; the transfiguration of Jesus also happened at the top of a mountain…
In Isaiah and in Psalms, we learn that Mount Zion is called the dwelling place of God!
Given all this, it’s easy to see that the glory stuck the mountaintop once again.
This happened to be the setting where God sent his prophet to confront the enemy, to show off his glory,
convert those who would convert, and ultimately slaughter the enemy.
~the Will of God was done in that place~
but how many know that as soon as you commit to doing the work of God, there’s an enemy that’s willing to do
whatever it takes to take you down?
So he uses the queen herself, Jezebel, wife of King Ahab, to say “You’re going down, Elijah… I’ve killed off all of the other prophets, and you will have a similar fate…!”
so Elijah heard this word, and you would think that this wouldn’t phase the man of God.
you would think that the prophet would have some kind of scripture that he’d go to, to combat this, to negate this.
But this story exists, in part, to demonstrate that prophets are human, too.
Yes, even men and women of God have their days where things are not so Godly…
I mean, we see the prophet Elijah tell God to take his life! he was having some serious suicidal battles—
he says, “I can’t take it anymore. I’ve had enough. I’m no better than my ancestors.”
No better than your ancestors ?? That’s just the low self-esteem talking—
and he left his servant in Beersheba while Elijah went away. he just needed to be by himself. in isolation.
and this is where depression likes to manifest.
cuz “what could he do??” he thought.
he couldn’t do the Will of God or he’ll die by order of the Queen !
and he couldn’t NOT do the Will of God, because that’s what he was called to do!
so that was his situation.
this man’s face was basically on a Wanted poster, and he had no way out. (or so he thought).
by the way, doesn’t it stink when you have these racing thoughts about feeling hopeless and lifeless, and you have No One to tell them to, because nobody would understand… and no one cares enough to listen, and we complain that there’s nobody around, when really it’s our own fault for pushing everyone away—
and we look around, surprised that there’s really No One around in this lonely place that have created… that lonely space we all run to…
and in that place, Elijah had this thought bouncing around in his head that he was the only one left. He said to himself, “I’m really the only prophet left out here…!”
***
have you ever felt so alone? like there could be so many people at home, or at the mall, or at the church, and you just feel like it’s just you?
there are soo many people at the party, but feels like it’s just you, huh?
and you might be thinking: “is it really just me ??”
“am I the only one that cares anymore? about keeping myself pure for marriage?”
“am I the only one that cares anymore about trying to read and understand the Bible??
“am I the only one who still spends time to pray? …am I really the only one?”
…and we wonder if it’s worth it to continue,
well, you know, since it’s just me. I’m the only one left.
and Elijah felt the weight of all of this.
the fear.
the depression.
the anxiety.
the pain of his loneliness…
and Elijah was so overwhelmed that he actually prayed that he might die.
he said, “I’ve had enough, Lord. take my life. I’m no better than your ancestors.”
sound familiar?
it’s unreasonable, what he’s saying. but in the mind of a depressed person, this all makes sense.
“No, no it’s true. I’m no good! I’m of no use… I ain’t no better than my daddy, who walked out. and I ain’t no better than mom, who criticizes me, and hurts me with her words every chance she gets… so I’ve had enough.”
“I’ve had enough trauma… I’ve had enough pain… I’ve had enough heartbreak! I’ve really had enough rejection…
I’ve struggled for long enough. so now make it stop—
***
You may find it surprising that a man as powerful as Elijah thought these same thoughts.
Here he was, after coming down from Mount Carmel, on his way to Mount Horeb, but he found himself at a place where he was no longer at the mountaintop. he was in a valley.
IN-BETWEEN
Now, geographically, Beersheba is actually just south of the mountain range where Mount Carmel is. But Beersheba itself is in-between mountains.
and we know that the angel helps Elijah and tells him to get food for the big journey ahead. He was to travel for 40 days before he’d get to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God.
-> there, on that mountain, he would get instructions from the Lord to anoint the next kings…
-> there, he would see the glory of God once more; he would experience the great and powerful wind; he would feel the earthquake beneath his feet, the earthquake that shook the mountain! and finally, he would see the FIRE once again!
so the presence of the Lord appeared to Elijah, and the glory would be palpable, yet once more, on that mountaintop…
but that’s the thing !!
Life is easy on the mountaintop…! because you’re on top of the world~
it’s not challenging at all!!
you know what IS challenging to deal with? the valley—
and not everybody can hang in the valley.
the valley is the in-between.
you’re smart enough to know: in-between your strong moments there can sometimes be some intense lows…
like between This holy place and That holy place exists a valley of in-between.
in-between what? well,
in-between church services
in-between yesterday’s prayer and tomorrow’s prayer
in-between paychecks (hello!)
in-between the last glory event and the next one…
the might not be fire in-between; there may not be this powerful reminder that God exists, and then what…??
***
It was in the valley where the Prophet Elijah had said I’ve had enough!! Make it stop! I don’t wanna live anymore…!
In response, an angel came and told him to get up and eat, and he felt better.
because sometimes the answer really is that simple: just get up and eat !
and you might say, “get up?”
yes!!! get up!! because you can’t stay down forever.
and eat up! because you have a journey ahead of you. matter of fact, eat twice, because you’re going to need that strength for the next mission, for the next mountain…
And the other thing is: sometimes it’s as simple as knowing that there Is a next mountain.
let that sink in.
I know it might take a while, it might take a little time, but have Hope that your next moment of glory is on its way; that it is indeed on the horizon—
so HOW DO YOU OVERCOME in the valley?
HOW DO YOU avoid depression while there?
…how do you avoid the dip in motivation?
well the answer is: you may have to come down the mountain physically. but you should never come down the mountain spiritually.
we Must make time to live in His presence, to climb up and experience His highness.
how…? through constant prayer and worship. The Word says to pray without ceasing (without stopping)!
The Word says he’ll take us from glory to glory, but you never expected there might be a valley in-between…
***
In life, we will sometimes reach low point, and that’s ok. it’s normal-
The righteous will fall seven times, but what does he do every time? Without fail? He gets back up, doesn’t he…?
Today is a good day to start over.
Today is a good day to start your climb once again.
Today is a good day to eat and enjoy life!
Last point is this: I remember going to the “gym” with my brothers, the guys, and this was not a gymnasium or a fitness center. The “gym” is what we called church when we would go to pray and let it all out. These were spiritual workout sessions where we would really go in and feel the intense presence of God, and every time we finished we always left feeling really refreshed.
But one day I was out of town and I just really had the urge to be there at the “gym,” because to me, there was nothing else like that setting of raw worship and prayer, and I was sad because I couldn’t imagine recreating that environment— that feeling of being on top of a mountain— anywhere else, but there. I thought it had to be at the gym…
but God reminded me that the “gym” is not a place, but a mindset.
And it’s the same with the mountain! You can climb up the mountain in the middle of the city, or in the middle of nowhere in the countryside, or in the lowest of valleys…
because He said it’s not a physical place— it’s a spiritual place.
and best part that is that you have access to it anywhere… anywhere…
Even here. Even now.