Being Me in the Face of Adversity

Have you ever noticed that when we face adversity, loss, injustice or pain, we start to act…differently?

Someone may say, “Are you OK?  You seem down.”  Or. . .

“You haven’t been yourself lately!”  Or. . .

“Geez, lighten up!”  (That one may or may not have come from my hubby!)  J

Those who know me know that I am an outgoing person.  I love to be in on the conversation, laughing, hugging, joking, sharing.  That’s who God made me to be!  I love being with people, offering hope for the future, finding my big God is real and is moving, even in the small, everyday moments of life.

But when challenges begin to come – especially the ones that pull the rug out from under me and leave me gasping for breath – I struggle to still be that same woman.  Suddenly things aren’t so funny.  I’m more quiet and withdrawn.  Hope for the future seems hard to find.

I think the Enemy loves that – when we face trauma, big or small, he wants us to react in ways that are opposite to who God made us to be.  He wants us to forget who we know God to be and how we have the authority in Jesus to move in faith and confidence, even in the midst of adversity.  Instead, it is easy for us to pull away, to nurse our fears and our wounds.

If you, like me, struggle with this, we are in good company.

In 1 Kings 18, we read the story of the prophet Elijah.  This is one strong man.  He is confident when he has heard from the Lord and moves forward in great boldness.  At this point in his story, Elijah is confronting the idolatry that the people of Israel have given into under the reign of King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel. 

So God sends Elijah, as a lone prophet, to challenge the 450 prophets of Baal.  And he boldly puts forth a challenge:  both he and the prophets will build an altar and present a bull.  A real God will be able to set the sacrifice on fire.

Though the prophets of Baal pray, cry out and cut themselves for hours, nothing happens.

Here is Elijah’s response to their efforts:

“About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself, or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!”.” (1 Kings 18:27)

Elijah is no shrinking violet, is he?  This kid had holy confidence that his God would come through in this challenge!

After the prophets of Baal have failed to call down fire from their god, Elijah then rebuilds the altar of the Lord that had been torn down.  He places the sacrifice on it and then instructs it to be doused with water over and over.  Here’s what happened next:

“At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”

“Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!” (1 Kings 18:36-39)

What an incredible miracle!  God has used Elijah in a powerful way and the people of Israel are drawn back to the Lord!

That’s the beauty of when we are being who God created us to be.  We have holy confidence.  We are unafraid.  God uses us in miraculous ways and people are drawn to the loving heart of God through us!

After this great victory, Elijah orders all the prophets of Baal to be executed.  King Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, was infuriated by this. 

“When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal.  So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.””  (1 Kings 19:1-2)

You’d better believe Jezebel would do everything in her power to end Elijah’s life.  And our prophet knows the type of insane, murdering woman Jezebel is.

So when Elijah hears Jezebel’s threats, this confident, faith-filled, just-seen-God’s-miracle prophet stands firm in the Lord and defeats her!

Just kidding.  Elijah runs away.

“Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”!” (1 Kings 19:3-4)

I told you we are in good company!

Elijah had just seen God at his best – displaying His miraculous works that put the schemes of the enemy to shame.  Elijah had moved in the boldness that God created him to walk in.  He was sure of his God and knew He would come through.

And then a madwoman threatens his life. . .so he forgets the power of the God who had just come through for him and he runs away in terror to a remote mountain and prayed to die.

Do you know what’s amazing about God?  He doesn’t berate Elijah for his running.  He doesn’t condemn him for his lack of faith in God’s protection of his life.

God sends an angel to give him food and sends him on a journey to Mt. Sinai, where God meets him in a very real way.

God knows that we are dust, friends.  He understands the torture of sin on this earth that causes us to run and hide, to forget who we are and Whose we are.

And in those moments, He wants to remind us of Who He is and who we are in Him.

At the end of 1 Kings 19, a few things happen.  First, God reminds Elijah that He is in the still small voice – closer and more intimate than Elijah can even imagine.  Second, God goes on in verses 15-18 to give Elijah a new assignment.  His call to be a prophet to speak on God’s behalf had not changed.  God also encourages Elijah that he is not alone.  He is to anoint Elisha to come alongside him and God also has a remnant of those in Israel who are still faithful to the one true God and have not bowed to idols.

This is just what Elijah needed to again walk as the man God created him to be – a bold leader, fearlessly serving his God.

And these are the things that we need, too.  We need to know that in danger or trial, God is closer to us than we can ever imagine.  That we can bring to Him our fears and doubts and find rest for our souls. 

It is in that time before God that we are reminded of what is true.  We are reminded of Who God is and that He has a plan for us beyond the painful circumstances of this moment.  That the threats of the enemy are not bigger than our God!  The enemy will always try to get us to back down and walk away from who God has called us to be.  But we can, with our identity solid in Jesus, walk in boldness and confidence, no matter what we are facing!

And finally, we are reminded that we are not alone.  God has those who are there to come alongside us and support us.

Where is God calling you, like me, to walk in renewed faith and boldness?  Where is He calling us to be exactly who He has created us to be?  I am praying that we will experience that intimate time with the Father that reminds us of the bigness of God on our behalf and that we can walk in holy confidence in Him, no matter what we are facing!