Elijah: Rest

Matthew 6:26-28 Throughout Scripture people are commanded to live lives of regular rest. The pattern continued with Jesus. He turned water into wine and fed five thousand people in part because he cared about their physical bodies. He understood his own physical needs and filled his ‘three years to save the world’ with meals, parties and naps. ‘Consider the lilies,’ he said, ‘look at the birds’ – the implication being he had slowed down enough to do so himself (Matt. 6:28, 26 NRSV). If you are feeling very low, if God seems distant, eat some chocolate and get an early night (at least before you do anything else). It’s not that God reluctantly ‘allows’ this; we think he encourages it. If we think we can survive on conferences, rallies or even Sunday services we are in for a great shock. These moments won’t sustain us any more than the fire on Carmel sustained Elijah. Elijah was being taught that God’s presence is not found simply in the earthquake, wind and fire moments of life. God is present in the gentle whisper. God whispers because his priority is intimacy, not entertainment. You don’t have to be close to the earthquake, win or fire to feel its effects, but to hear the gentle whisper you have to feel his breath on your neck. It is this closeness that sustains us, that turns God’s servants into his friends. If the main thing you want is to be used by God then settle for spectacular moments a few times a year. If, however, you want deep relationship with God, the gentle whisper is essential. God is speaking to us. He wants to be near us. The key is to recognize this and then learn to tune our hearts to his.]]>