The one that got away

We recently finished our series on characters in our Sunday morning celebrations. We looked at Abraham, Joseph, Sarah, Ruth, Jonah, Peter, David, Esther and Joshua. We finished with Zacchaeus. But there were a lot of others we could have done. A long time ago I did an A-Z of Bible characters, I remember that 'F' was Philip and I think 'Q' was probably Queen someone. Anyway, this time I chose a mixture that made sure I included some of the strong female characters on my list. But there's always one you wished you could have found space for in the series, probably more than one.

Of all the characters I could have chosen, the one that got away this time was Elijah. I think Elijah would have made a good 21st century minister. He's passionate, he's committed, he's faithful and he feels totally alone! He has high highs and low lows. He prays powerful prayers and runs away at the first sign of trouble. He knows when God is going to make his presence known and keeps getting back into the game. He even works on discouraging anyone from following him into ministry!

I think, if Elijah were around today he would understand the frustrations of leadership. He'd understand when you told him that if things don't change you're out of here, and he'd understand that when they don't you're still around. Not because you can't leave, but because you know that God has called you to stay and stick with the programme.

When God finally gets Elijah alone on the mountain, and when Elijah is ready for the biggest question of his career, God asks him: "Elijah, what are you doing here?" God asks Elijah this question twice, and twice Elijah gives the same answer. Perhaps God was hoping for a different answer the second time around. Perhaps Elijah was so convinced of his aloneness that not even encountering God was going to change how he felt about his situation. 

Whatever the purpose of the exchange, God simply says to Elijah: "Go back the way you came and..." And what? Continue to serve me, continue to do what I ask you to do. Ministry is not known for it's glamourous side. Outside of the church, very few people will ever know who we are, even inside the church few will know. But God knows.

God knows how you feel, he knows what is going on in your life, in your ministry, in your church. And he still wants your wholehearted devotion. In the end of course it is God whom we serve. We might feel like Elijah felt, but like Elijah, we are not alone because God is with us.