*You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*
It's election day in the U.S., and I'm anxious.
Not about any of the races, but because our church has given permission to Idahoans United for Women and Families (IUWF) to collect signatures for a ballot initiative on our property.
By the time that we arrive at this point in scripture, Elijah has only been an active prophet for two chapters, but he’s already made quite an impression on the local royalty. After three years of drought, he pops up out of nowhere, blames the king, and proceeds to humiliate the prophets of Ba’al in the most ostentatious way possible (you can read about it yourself in chapter 18). He’s not kidding when he says he’s been zealous for the Lord - he’s made it absolutely impossible for anyone to ignore God’s power, including the queen.
But now, he’s feeling the full weight of his actions. Jezebel’s threats have left him feeling afraid, burnt out, and utterly alone, to the point that he’s ready to throw in the towel completely. God sends an angel to force Elijah to practice some self care, but the message that accompanies these provisions isn’t especially reassuring: “Eat something, because you have a difficult road ahead of you.” Great. Just what a person approaching wit’s end wants to hear.
*You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*
It’s a widely recognized truth of human nature that, when given a choice, most of us will pursue success by following the path of least resistance. I don’t mean this as a criticism; it’s an entirely rational way to operate in the world. We maximize our chance of success (and minimize the cost of failure) when we make things as easy as possible for ourselves. So it makes sense for us to always be on the lookout for the simplest ways to get a leg up.
*You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*
One of my favorite ways to engage scripture is to imagine yourself in the shoes of each character you encounter and seeing what new insights arise. It’s especially interesting in stories where there’s an obvious hero and villain dynamic at play. What do we find when we try to relate to Pharaoh instead of Moses? How does our understanding shift when we see ourselves as Goliath instead of David? What can we learn when we adopt the perspective of Judas instead of Jesus?