Living in the Spirit
June 14, 2016

Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 19:1-15a

He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. –1 Kings 19:11-15

In the 1980’s I created my own sabbatical. State employees do not get sabbaticals. I had to get special dispensation just to take more than two weeks off, even though I had accumulated enough annual leave to take off three months and was losing leave. I had had it with the earthquakes, wind, and fire of trying to deal with very real human need with very limited resources coupled with the mishmash of varied opinions of what would work and what would not work. I drove east on I-40 with my radio blaring and my mind still dealing with problems I could not solve. In Nashville, after a long hot bath and a good night’s sleep, I started the second day of the journey with the shocking blast of too-loud popular music when I started my car. I quickly quieted the radio and switched to classical sounds. I was soon turning off I-40 and heading toward the Great Smoky Mountain Park. The curving roads forced me to slow down, the beauty called me to roll down my window, and the sound of silence lead me to turn off the radio. I encountered the Holy driving through that forest.

A few weeks later after doing some genealogy and seeing a very good old friend, I headed back home ready, with the help of God, to deal with whatever forces I would meet. The environment I had left had not changed. I had changed. God had reshaped me with a little more patience and a lot more resilience as I continued to answers God’s call to serve others.

The bad things that happen in our world can be our undoing or they can be a catalyst toward even greater action toward doing justice for all God’s children. We are the branches but we must remember, we are together attached to a might vine. (John 15:5)

Prayer: Lord, make us one in your love so that our love grows together exponentially. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.