Find Your Mount Sinai

A Series on God’s Call to Ministry

1 Kings 19:1-18

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%2019%3A1-18&version=NIV;NLT

[Preface: How do you know what your calling in life is? Will you know from a big bang experience? Or will it come quietly, almost imperceptible? Will you be inspired by the stories of a visiting missionary; or a book that opens your eyes to the needs of a specific people group; or from your own life experience? This series is about God’s call to ministry for your life; what it means or doesn’t mean.]

The devil is in the details.

As a young, single man, I worked as a painter for several years. Outdoor painting was the worst because it involved scraping off the old paint. Flecks of paint would fly into my eyes; I’d scratch my knuckles on the wood siding; and I would do all this in the heat and humidity of the summer while thirty feet up in the air.

But the details were critical. You had to pay attention to the details to prepare the surface properly in order for the final product to look good. If you didn’t, then somebody would say, “Look, you missed a spot”. The devil is in the details.

Besides house painting, this saying is true in many aspects of life. It’s true in your marriage, your work, your ministry and your faith life. The “details” of life can push back to the point where you want to give up; you want to quit. That’s what happened to Elijah.

Elijah had recently faced off with 450 prophets of Baal in a fire burning contest. He decisively won the contest, and proceeded to have the prophets killed. Queen Jezebel wanted revenge, so she threatened Elijah’s life! He immediately ran away.

⁴ 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.”      NLT

Eventually, he went to Mount Sinai; the same place where Moses met the Lord in the burning bush. While there, Elijah hid in a cave and the Lord came to him and spoke to him. Not through the wind or the earthquake or the fire… but through a still small voice.

And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” NLT

Elijah was called to be a prophet of the Lord. He had experienced many miraculous events in his life. And yet, he lost sight of his calling; lost sight of his prophetic purpose; lost sight of the Lord… the devil is in the details.

Actually though, that isn’t true. The truth is, that God is in the details. He has a plan for your life; he’s always at work in your life and he loves you unconditionally. 

So go ahead and find your Mount Sinai. Spend some time alone with the Lord. Let him speak to you in a still small voice. 

Your Safe Place

Psalm 46

 

"God is our safe place and our strength. He is always our help when we are in trouble. ² So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken and the mountains fall into the center of the sea, ³ and even if its waters go wild with storm and the mountains shake with its action.”   NLV

 

Many years ago, I was sailing with some friends on the Grand Traverse Bay in northern Michigan when the winds suddenly picked up. We were in a 26 foot sailboat, not big enough to withstand the tumult of the wind and the waves. The sails quickly filled, and pulled the boat to about a 45 degree angel with the water. My life flashed before me.

 

It’s not very often that our world gets turned upside down, or using the metaphor of Psalm 46; “the earth is shaking, the mountains are falling and the waters go wild from the storm”. But it happens, and not just literally like in the sailboat.

 

Maybe you’re version of this metaphor is that you’re having trouble starting your career; or you’re struggling after having a still born baby; or your workplace is not just stressful, but oppressive; or your best friends seem to have drifted away; or you make a move out of state away from family and friends. Take your pick.

 

How do you respond when your world seems to be turning upside down? What do you do? Who do you turn to?

 

In our culture of rugged individualism, the first response is often to “dig in and deal with it yourself”. Sometimes people will bury themselves in their work or a relationship or even self-destructive behavior. The human spirit is capable of discovering all kinds of ways to attempt to control their world.

 

So many things in life can cause us to feel lost, alone, insecure, afraid, out of control. The psalmist suggests turning to God; that He is our safe place. When I was a little boy I used to crawl behind the couch and lay snuggled between the couch and the heat vent. On a cold winter morning, it felt like a very safe place.

 

How do you get to your safe place; to the throne of grace; to hear His still small voice; to know that He is God?

 

Take time to reflect and mediate on the word of God. This will bring you into His presence; into your safe place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 *****HERE ARE SOME VERSES TO GO ALONG WITH THE BLOG*****

 

^10 “Be quiet and know that I am God.”    Psalm 46:10 NLV

 

“…but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: ¹² And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”       1 Kings 19:11b-12 KJV

 

^16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”                 Hebrews 4:16 NKJV

 

“God is our safe place and our strength. He is always our help when we are in trouble.”            Psalm 46:1 NLV