Growing up I went to a christian camp every year (BMBC represent). I loved it. I loved the friends, the learning, the girls (ok if you knew me then, you would agree)… But I think most of all I enjoyed what we called the “mountain top experience”. (Of course there we did not have a mountain in Oklahoma, but this was a BIG mesa, so just go with me here.)
The “mountain top experience” is something we feel when we sense that we are very close to God. Other people might call this experience the “camp high” but my church family frowned upon references to drug use… but I digress.
As a youth minister, I continued to take teens to a christian camp (this one CBH) and they would talk about their “mountain top” experiences as well (this time on a real mountain). I loved what it did to the teens… I loved what it did to me… There was this perceived “closeness” to God. And who doesn’t want that?
But the inevitable would always happen. Time would go by, and I would feel more and more distant from that “mountain top” experience, and thus more and more distant from God. I even started to believe that God only dwelt on those mountain tops.
I think Elijah went through the same struggles. After his victory on Mount Carmel defeating the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18), Elijah goes on the run from Jezebel who has threatened his life. He flees to Horeb (or Sinai), because this is the Mountain of God. Surely God will be with him there. And we pick up the story in 1 Kings 19…
But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and the mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
And the voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
He replied again, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
Then the Lord told him, “Go back the same way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram. Then anoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from the town of Abelmehola to replace you as my prophet. Anyone who escapes from Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu will be killed by Elisha! Yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!”
God is on the mountain, just as Elijah expected. But God asks why Elijah is there… He then show Elijah all sorts of powerful manifestations (all of which we would think was God… but God is not in any of them). Finally God comes int he stillness and orders Elijah off the mountain and tells him to get back to work.
What is God trying to teach Elijah here? I believe it is the same thing he is trying to teach us today… God is not just present in the special places and significant events like Carmel or Sinai (or camp or Sunday worship); he is also present in the everyday routine of our lives and ministry.
So this is the definition of spiritual maturity… The ability to see God in all things. May you see God at work through you today.
