Elijah

Yes, my loyal leaders, I'm on a roll...two posts in two days!

Below is an excerpt from Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest, which our small group is reading this month.

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August 11, 2009
This Experience Must Come
"Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha . . . saw him no more" —2 Kings 2:11-12

It is not wrong for you to depend on your "Elijah" for as long as God gives him to you. But remember that the time will come when he must leave and will no longer be your guide and your leader, because God does not intend for him to stay. Even the thought of that causes you to say, "I cannot continue without my ’Elijah.’ " Yet God says you must continue.

Alone at Your "Jordan" ( Kings 2:14 ). The Jordan River represents the type of separation where you have no fellowship with anyone else, and where no one else can take your responsibility from you. You now have to put to the test what you learned when you were with your "Elijah." You have been to the Jordan over and over again with Elijah, but now you are facing it alone. There is no use in saying that you cannot go— the experience is here, and you must go. If you truly want to know whether or not God is the God your faith believes Him to be, then go through your "Jordan" alone.

Alone at Your "Jericho" ( 2 Kings 2:15 ). Jericho represents the place where you have seen your "Elijah" do great things. Yet when you come alone to your "Jericho," you have a strong reluctance to take the initiative and trust in God, wanting, instead, for someone else to take it for you. But if you remain true to what you learned while with your "Elijah," you will receive a sign, as Elisha did, that God is with you.

Alone at Your "Bethel" ( 2 Kings 2:23 ). At your "Bethel" you will find yourself at your wits’ end but at the beginning of God’s wisdom. When you come to your wits’ end and feel inclined to panic— don’t! Stand true to God and He will bring out His truth in a way that will make your life an expression of worship. Put into practice what you learned while with your "Elijah"— use his mantle and pray (see 2 Kings 2:13-14 ). Make a determination to trust in God, and do not even look for Elijah anymore.

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After pondering on this devotional, my question is this--how do you strike a balance between relying on others and relying on God alone in your spiritual walk? We know that it has to be both. God has provided us with a community in form of a church, friends and family so that we can grow together, build up one another and ultimately love each other. Yet relying on others can be a form of idol. Some suffer precipitous fall in their spiritual walk after they leave a church to which they were deeply attached. Not that it's wrong, but perhaps they relied too much on that group of brothers and sisters for support and growth.

Of course, the opposite is possible where one relies too little on his or her Elijah(s). That may happen due to fear, distrust and arrogance. But Jesus challenges us to love one another--and His sacrificial love shows us that a part of growth in a community comes from lowering yourself, putting yourself at risk of betrayal and disappointment. There will be times of hurting because people (including yourself) are sinful and knowing/unknowing hurt one another, but they can be extremely nurturing and in some strethces of your life, essential.

As I am writing this entry, it dawns on me that friends and communities are God's gifts. We cannot--and dare not--demand gifts from God. He has already made the greatest gift of all in Jesus Christ, hasn't he? Like Job and other characters in the Bible who understood and loved God who gives and takes away, we, too, should be ready to stand firm, with or without our Elijah.