05 April 2009--Are you listening?

I was reminded today at church that God uses imperfect people to fulfill his plan and bring glory to himself. I've heard this over and over again. But what I don't hear on a regular basis is the continuation of that logic. Why does God choose us? If he can use anyone, why us, and why in this way? Thanks to Elijah, God has given me an example that I can carry with me as a reminder throughout my life.
As 1 Kings 18 shows us, God listens to us. He hears all of our cries, big and small, and answers appropriately. With the backdrop of "Who's the God?" with Baal prophets on one side (450-850 strong) and Elijah on the other side, a contest of wills plays out where the goal is to simply find out who is God, and in the knowing, why don't we follow him? After a whole day of the Baal prophets beseeching gods that don't exist, goaded by Elijah's sarcastic comments and needling, by the way, the prophets had to concede that their sacrifice was not being acknowledged, and needed to swallow the full ramifications of what that might mean. More so, what it would mean if Elijah's sacrifice was accepted.
Well, after a full day of sarcasm streaming from Elijah (among my favorites: "maybe he's asleep, and needs to be awaked"), he asks the people to come near him, repairing the altar of the Lord that was broken (imagine the implications loaded into that simple phrase?). He then prepares his sacrifice to the Lord, the full details being in verses 31-35. And then, Elijah prays that the Lord will hear him because he is the Lord's servant.
I can just imagine the kind of buildup that Elijah was giving at this point in the evening. He had been teasing and deriding the prophets all day, pointing out the fact that their "gods" weren't listening, because those gods simply didn't exist. Right now, he must be feeling like he better bring all the big words he was slinging. And I'm not criticizing Elijah's insecurities. I think I like him better because of them. I liked seeing that Elijah was selfish and insecure. It made him real to me today like he never was before when I'd read and studied this passage in the past. Before he was holy and righteous, true, and was God's vessel, and of course, God would answer him. This rereading, though, Elijah is still God's vessel, but I see his selfishness and insecurities and God answers his prayer anyway--with an all-consuming fire that leaves no doubt about who the true God is. All of these actions show that God is listening. But then, I've also understood this as a given. The real lesson for me comes next.
In the next chapter, it talks about the next piece of the loop: am I listening? I never realized the significance of Elijah running to the king's palace, seeing that Ahab and Jezebel's regime was still in place, proceeds to run for his life south toward Horeb. I didn't realize that he would have felt disappointed, disillusioned and alone even after such great miracles as he had seen and experienced. So, after 40 days of wandering, he found himself at Mt. Horeb, ready to hide out in a cave for the rest of his life, because he was over it all, and ready to quit. Of course, God wasn't finished with him.
God followed him into that cave, and asked why he was there. Elijah's response? He was tired of seeing all the injustices of the world, and how people like Ahab and Jezebel are still in power, and are unaffected by anything, but God's people are left to be picked off and killed. I can sympathize with him on that one, given today's social and political climate. He was tired and lonely, and was done. God's answer? "Come here."
What a great phrase. My favorite image is that of a parent with a child who tells that child to "come here" not because the parent thinks that the child can't hear him/her if the child is more than two feet away, but because the parent wants the child to truly listen and understand the important things that he/she wants to tell that child. Likewise, there needs to be a sense of attention and submission to God's authority.
So, at this point, God told Elijah to stand before the Lord, because the Lord will pass by. Interestingly, Elijah stays in the cave through wind, earthquake and fire. But, when he heard that still, small voice, Elijah went out. He didn't feel God's presence until he heard that still small voice. (Again, I can only imagine the kind of implications loaded in that popular verse that can speak volumes about authority and leadership alone.)
God asks him the same question as before, and Elijah answered as before, except this time, Elijah was ready to listen to God's response. Now, God can tell him that Elijah's not done yet and needs to anoint kings to execute the judgment that was necessary, and anoint Elisha, Elijah's successor. Even though Elijah felt alone, he really wasn't. God needed to show him that he had protected a remnant of 7000 whose faith never wavered. Elijah ran away, went into a cave, but God pursued him. Even with other people that he could have used, God went after Elijah. Even though it may have been easier to start from scratch, he went after Elijah. I know that I would have given up on Elijah (how often do I want to do that with peope in my own life?).
God can shake up the world to show his power, but he's not after a shaken up world. He is after our heart condition. He wants us to listen so that he can lead us, encourage us, enlighten us, and yes, sometimes, maybe even many times, rebuke us. But through it all, he wants us to listen so that we know that he loves us still. This is the glory of God.