Words that struck a cord - 9/9/2010

Elijah: A Man of Heroism and Humility
Chapter 6: A Man of God . . . A Promise of God

Can you imagine the thoughts that must have been running through King Ahab's mind about this prophet of God, who was sprinting alongside his chariot in the rain? At the very least he must have thought the man bizarre. Strange. Weird.
But Elijah wasn't weird. "The hand of the Lord was on him," and he lived expectantly. And if that's weird, well, then, I want to be weird. It's not easy to be in Elijah's league. It's not easy, but it's also not impossible. I'd like to start a brand-new club that only Elijah-types can join. What fun we could have outrunning chariots, shocking the Ahabs that are bogged down in the mud of monotony and mediocrity, held back from the fun of running with God through the downpour of His blessings!

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Mandy, Jilly and I have been attending Living Water Church since almost the beginning of this year. The word and focus of the church for this year has been "Expect and Encounter". That is how Elijah lived. He was expectant in his walk with God and that expectation is what made him a prophet and man of God.

Can we live life in this day and time like Elijah and the members of the Hebrew Hall of Fame? Many times in the 30 plus years I have been breathing air on this planet I have held on to the 'no' and the 'yes' of that question. Right now I am crawling across the teeter-toter of no versus yes from the 'no' side to the 'yes' side. It is not an easy crawl especially when I think of the comfort of the 'no' side, the lack of faith and risk that are welcome there. The 'yes' side is scary. I have to have faith, I have to stand firm, I have to be on display, and I have to hold onto an expectation.

So what is my expectation in this time. I could go for an easy cliche answer like peace on earth, the salvation of the lost, or the expansion of God's kingdom. None of which are bad things. They are all part of God's plan and we each can have a part of that. But what do I expect him to do personally in my life, in my needs, to confront my fears, my insecurities and my future. If you are thinking that sounds selfish then I am sorry and God and I can work that out. I am his tool, I have a purpose and he is working on me. And just like I have to take care of and maintain my tools so I can use them God is and wants to do that with us. He wants us to be people of character, people of right living, people who effect the world around us. And that is part of the plan. I need expectations so he can show himself through the fulfillment of them and show the world Who He is. There are criteria we need to be aware of for our expectations and they need to be in line with the Word of God. I am not promoting any claim it mentality. I just want to have expectations for God and to live life with the faith it takes to hold on to them.

Mandy and I both believe and it is a very deep rooted desire that after the next baby comes that she is not to be a full time employee. I am in need of a new Job. My schooling will be done in the end of December. If I am to be as close as we can to the sole provider for our family it will take a new job and some favor as I compete against others with either more experience or bigger degrees than I have. So this is the expectation we are holding onto. That God will work it out in our lives so we can live out this deep desire of our heart.

The Other Expectation which in some ways is the more important one. Is that God will not let us be a member of the Ahabs stuck in the mud of monotony and mediocrity any longer. We want to be part of the Elijah club.