Rush Hour

Rush Hour

1 Kings 19:1-13 When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.” Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take     my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. There he came to a cave, where he spent the night.

But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”  “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Elijah has just made a mad dash to hide from Jezebel.  He was fleeing for his life.  He had just had the scariest, craziest, most anxious day of his life.  He traveled into the wilderness until he came to a solitary broom tree and there he poured out his heart to God. 

Here we see God interact with this struggling prophet.  God’s interactions are not what we would expect under the circumstances.  However, God knew that after the rush and craziness of his day, Elijah would be unable to hear his message and to receive his comfort so God chose to prepare Elijah to hear from him. 

1. God allowed him to sleep.

2. God provided him with dinner.

3. God told him to wait.

4. God told him to listen.

As we are going through our lives at high speed, it is necessary for us to maintain proper balance in order to hear from God.  When we are rushing through our day, under the pressures and stresses we each have to face, it is necessary for us to follow the example God gave us in 1 Kings. 

1. We need to make sure we get plenty of rest.  When we are tired it is hard for us to hear the Lord. 

2. We must be sure to maintain healthy eating habits.  When life is busy and we are hurrying from one activity to another it is easy to skip meals or to eat unhealthy foods because they are fast and easy.  When we fail to eat healthy we weaken our system and put ourselves at risk for illness and often run on a low battery.  Like a cell phone, when the battery is dying it is hard to receive messages. 

3. We need to learn to wait on the Lord.  It is difficult to wait on the Lord if we are hurrying about.  Just like rush hour traffic where everyone is impatient for the lights to change and the traffic to move, we are often in such a hurry that we miss vital opportunities to hear from God.  We are likely to miss “God Moments” (times when he wants us to minister to others) because we are moving too fast to even notice others. 

4.  We must work on listening for God’s voice.  He speaks to us every day and we need to be attentive. Psalm 46:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Let us try to avoid Rush Hour and take the necessary precautions in order to hear from God every day.  He is speaking, will we be able and willing to hear?

All Scripture is NLT unless otherwise stated.