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Your Future and Elijah's Ravine

View from the Top

I found myself standing on the top of Mount Carmel, in Israel. I was surrounded by students. They were reading from 1 Kings 18, about the prophet Elijah taking on the prophets of Baal. And I kept thinking back to this guy's life: Where did Elijah come from? God used him in a huge way. What was his degree in? What great training had he received that he was able to get in the faces of 400 of King Ahab's religious leaders? Surely he had the best religious training in the world. And he calls down fire from heaven — what gave him that idea?

Enough with the questions, because one has only to look back one chapter in 1 Kings to see what this great training method was.

Hiding with God

Elijah comes on the scene at the beginning of Chapter 17, with an introduction that clarifies — thank goodness — that a Tishbit is indeed from Tishbe. For some reason Elijah is in Ahab's court addressing the king. To better understand Ahab you creep a couple verses back into chapter 16 and figure out that, "Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him" (16:33, NIV).

Ouch. I don't ever want to find myself being described that way. There were some pretty bad dudes before Ahab, and he topped them all.

Elijah confronts Ahab and prophesies that Israel will suffer a drought because of the king's disobedience. These are some harsh words. We don't have an explanation of how Ahab reacted (or, for that matter, his very controlling wife, Jezebel), but I can't imagine that a guy with such a depraved heart actually took the news well. All we do know is that right after this happens, God speaks to Elijah and sends him to a hiding place of sorts: "Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah; 'Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there'" (17:2-4).

Nobody is quite sure where this wadi actually is, but God knew that it was hard to find, and knew Elijah would need some provisions. We are also not sure how long Elijah was there, though some writers make it anywhere from three months to three years.¹ 1 Kings 18:1 does tell us the drought lasted three years (at least). But regardless of how long he was there, God had him there for a reason. This would be Elijah's training ground — alone, hidden and provided for.

What went on? Elijah, a prophet of God, was hanging out with his Heavenly Father and listening. He was building a relationship with his God. I cannot imagine the kind of intimacy that's fostered in that kind of environment.

Modern Day Elijahs

Now, shift with me to the present and put yourself in Elijah's shoes (OK … sandals). If you're launching into your next year of college — and especially if it's your senior year or last year of graduate school — you're beginning to think about the future. What's next? becomes the question haunting the back of your mind.

I've talked with many students who are so anxious about the future that God has planned for them. If that's you, listen to what God says through the story of Elijah. Like Elijah, you may be asked to wait, to hide, to learn how to truly rely upon His provision, and then act.

1. Listen to God. The first thing Elijah did was to listen for God's voice. He didn't question it. He didn't pull a "Gideon" and wait for multiple confirmations.² He heard the word of the Lord. I contend that the main reason we don't hear God is not because He isn't talking but because we are moving so fast that we miss it. His Word is always before us. He is the providential guide of our paths. He sometimes is speaking directly to our hearts and minds. It takes slowing down, finding a place to get away and just listening. I know this has been a hard lesson for me in my 43 years.



2. Do what He says. "So he did what the Lord had told him…" (17:5a). Elijah simply went. No arguments. I can't tell you the number of times I've talked to a student who, in their words, can't figure out what to do with their lives. This is especially odd when the student has just graduated with a degree in something. Do you not think that God was working in the selection of the major or the completion of the degree? Perhaps, just perhaps, the next step is to do something with that degree. It isn't forever and it isn't locked in stone. But it is a next step. Even when the voice seems dim, do what He says.



3. Trust His provision. "The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening and he drank from the brook" (17:6). Think about this for a moment. He was sent to a desolate area that didn't have the normal provisions that his hometown (or any town for that matter) would have. He was entirely reliant upon God. My question to you becomes, how much do you actually rely upon God? Do you trust that He is your provider?



4. Be Ready for the Big One. The best part of being on the top of Mount Carmel is realizing that Elijah had quite a big day on his visit. He climbed up the four and half miles, challenged the prophets of Baal, taunted them, repaired an altar, slaughtered a bull, prayed fire down from heaven, helped round up the 400 prophets of Baal, took them down mountain into the valley, slaughtered them, climbed back up and challenged Ahab, came down the mountain, hiked up his robe and ran eighteen and a half miles to Jezreel to beat Ahab, who was in a chariot. Whew!
   
   Now, you may never find yourself in that type of public display for God’s sake, but each of us has a call upon our lives that God placed there that we might serve Him. That call may not be entirely clear to you right now, but God never promised a view of the whole plan. He just asks you to trust Him. He has given you skills, abilities, gifts and opportunity for a purpose — so use them. It may be something very small (in the world’s eyes) but you are called to do it.

Speaking of being ready for the big one, last year I talked with an alumna of the Focus on the Family Institute. She felt she had disappointed God, her parents, even me. How? I asked. She was sorry she wasn't making a huge impact on the world. I asked her to step back from that perspective and tell me what she had been doing since being back at school. She began by telling me that her little sister had moved in with her and they were attending school together. She also told me her sister was really struggling in her faith. I could tell this young woman wanted to move our conversation on to other things in her life, but … there it was. She had overlooked an amazing opportunity to be salt and light for her little sister.

Don’t worry about changing the whole world. Instead, listen to what God has planned for your little corner of it.

Making an Impact

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How are you dealing with your fears about the future?

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In your lives, there may very well be a time where you are called to hide in a proverbial ravine with the Lord. Then He may call you to something very big. Or he may call you to something small but equally significant. Either way, I doubt you'll have a day like Elijah had. But once you find yourself intimately relating to God, equipped by Him, obedient to Him, and doing His will, He will use you to make an impact on your world.

Are you up to the challenge?