
Photo by Nik Shuliahin 💛💙 on Unsplash
Maybe you feel alone also. Maybe you job seems so big and unique that you think there couldn’t possibly be anyone else who would understand it enough to provide empathy and support. But God needs us to remember that we're part of a larger community that can provide guidance, support, and insight when we need help solving problems.
I often find myself fascinated by Elijah's story. It has so many incredible ups and downs that both show God’s power and humanity’s weakness, and I love how his story in 1 Kings 18-19 encapsulates this.
After having an incredible “spiritual high” of seeing God’s power destroy the prophets of Baal, Elijah then runs for the hills when Jezebel threatens him with death. Feeling alone and despondent, Elijah knows he needs God, but he doesn’t hear His voice until the whisper that followed a fire and earthquake.
Sometimes we may feel like Elijah did in our roles as technicians and creatives.
He’s always speaking, so am I doing my part to make sure that I’m still enough to listen?
There can be an incredible high of doing an amazing service, or finishing a huge project, or having some other amazing outcome that we know wouldn’t have been possible without God’s intervention. It can lead to such a rush of endorphins and adrenaline as we celebrate that big thing!
But then, WHAM! Something else thunders down on our desk that snaps us back to reality. Maybe we then feel overwhelmed as the seemingly never-ending stream of work, maybe we feel inundated by pressure, maybe we feel alone and unheard in a cavalcade of tasks. And in the midst of that, maybe we, like Elijah, start to despair.
Why am I doing this? Does my input even matter? Will this ever let up?
I can’t handle this. I can’t do this. I need out.
Maybe we, like Elijah, get so caught up in our feelings that that’s all we can see or hear. The problems. The challenges. The circumstances. And we become our own echo chamber of feeding those feelings of overwhelming back into our minds over and over.
And then we wonder why we can’t hear God or feel his presence in the storm!
That’s why there are so many reminders in Scripture of the importance of “being still.” When things are getting crazy around me, and I feel like I’m drowning, God’s not going to compete with all of that other noise and try to out-shout it to get my attention.
Just like with Elijah, he won’t speak to me in an earthquake. If He did, then that would mean that I’d never have to change anything about my approach in order to hear His voice because I know that He would just keep shouting louder and louder.
But God speaks in a still, small voice, a whisper that we can only hear once we’ve tuned out all the other noise. And chances are, He’s always been speaking, but the other things around me (and the other voices in my own head!) are so loud that they drown Him out.
Having someone else to train and develop is critical for longevity.
The challenge becomes in how we silence the things around us, amidst the chaos and despair, in order to recapture the peace and direction that comes with hearing His whisper clearly.
Once Elijah quieted himself in his cave, he was able to hear God’s whisper speaking to him. And in that whisper, God spoke to him and provided direction to help Elijah get out of his “feelings” and back on track with what God had called him to do.
In 1 Kings 19:15-18 (NIV), God gives Elijah the direction he needed:
The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
While the elements of this direction aren’t specifically applicable today (please don’t go find someone to put your enemies to death with a sword!), the principles in this passage are critical for all of us to understand.
First, God knew that part of Elijah’s problem was that he’d lost sight of his purpose. He was so focused on his negative emotions and the overwhelming nature of his circumstances that he couldn’t see or remember the fact that God had him in a specific place for a specific reason.
Have I felt that way too? I’ve been so burdened by daily chores that I’ve lost sight for the long-term vision God has for my life and the impact I can carry, and that has contributed to a feeling of burnout or worthlessness. If so, maybe it’s time for me to step away from the noise and allow God’s whisper to remind me of what He’s called me to do in ministry.
...step away from the noise and allow God’s whisper to remind me of what He’s called me to in ministry.
God also knew that Elijah’s feelings of hopelessness were deepened because he believed the lie that he was all alone and had to fight his battles solo. Not true! God reminded him of the thousands of other compatriots he had in a larger prophetic community who would help fight spiritual battles so he didn’t have to do it himself. Knowing that he was part of a bigger “people” would help combat the loneliness he would feel in his valley seasons of ministry.
Maybe I feel alone also. Maybe my job seems so big and unique that I think there couldn’t possibly be anyone else who would understand it enough to provide empathy and support. But God needs me to remember that I’m part of a larger community that can provide guidance, support, and insight when I need help solving problems.
So am I connected relationally to the broader church tech community? Do I have relationships that can help sustain me when it gets challenging? Do I have people I can lean on to help offset the isolation and loneliness I might sometimes feel?
God also knew that part of Elijah’s issue was that he was carrying the weight of trying to be a one-man band. There’s too much for any of us to do in ministry to try and do it all ourselves. That’s why we need an Elisha like Elijah did. We all need a protégé.
Having someone else to train and develop is critical for longevity. We need the mission and the vision to be sustained without relying on us as individuals to have to do every single thing. If my desire is to be a generational leader and equip my ministry for success long after I’m gone, then I need to take the things I know and teach them to someone else. I don’t have to be an expert in everything, but I do need to be willing to share what I know and empower others to grow in their own gifts and abilities.
Maybe it’s not just one single person, but maybe it’s a small group or even a larger team. The number is irrelevant. The point is that I need to understand I can’t do it all myself and having others help carry the weight, using their own unique strengths and gifts, will lift the emotional burden on my own shoulders and help my role feel more sustainable. Then, when the hard days come, I know I have others around me who can help get things done without me having to do it all myself.
We, like Elijah, need to be reminded of the importance of reconnecting with our purpose, being grounded in a broader people group, and having a protégé to invest in.
But it all starts with being able to hear the whisper when God speaks. Am I finding time to rest? Am I finding time to quiet the noise so I can hear his voice?
He’s always speaking, so am I doing my part to make sure that I’m still enough to listen?