What are you doing here, Elijah? He said, I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away. And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks 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 the sound of a low whisper. (1 Kings 19:9-12)
It started off as a misdialed call and ended with a promise of greater spirituality. A woman, whom I only know now as “Kim,” called my number by accident while trying to get a hold of her neighbor for some reason. After three attempts at dialing the neighbor and getting me instead, I tried to walk her through a series of questions to figure out why she was dialing my number rather than the neighbor. She was surprised by my willingness to help and laugh off the situation. “It is good to hear laughter,” she said. “I haven’t laughed in a while.” I told her that I was a minister and God had richly blessed me, even in life’s difficulties, and had every reason to want to smile and laugh.
As it turns out, my new digital acquaintance was having some of life’s difficulties that, to a great extent, were brought on by some poor choices on her part. She spoke for a few brief moments of how she tried to be spiritual and how she prayed once a day, but really never went to church except to drop her kids off. She revealed that she had three children, was in school and lived in a community that neighbored mine. Conspicuously absent was the mention of a spouse, and based on our conversation, most of her current difficulty revolved around this part of her life.
It was at that point I offered her a bit of advice, after letting her know about our church and when we meet. “You know, the good news of the Gospel is not that you can follow Christ and all will be well. The good news of the Gospel is that you get Jesus and He is all that you will ever need, no matter what life brings. Try giving your life fully to him, and while your circumstance may not change, it will certainly restore your joy and the peace you can find in life.”
For a moment or two the line seemed dead as she collected the thought. Her only reply, however, was to ask for the address where our church met. I gave her the address and chided her slightly, asking, “Don’t you think your children need to see you doing more spiritually than just dropping them off at the door of the church? Don’t you think Christ wants you too? Some may not want you, but He does.”
It was then that she promised to visit and our conversation ended. The reason I tell you all of this is to show the importance of a proper attitude and perspective to the mission of Christ. Truth be told, the last 24 hours have not been the best for me. Two of mine are home sick. Worst of all, my wife is running a very high fever and ended up going to the ER with a 104 temp, which meant a very late night, sitting and waiting and paying in more ways than one. After about three hours sleep, my youngest woke up with stomach issues. Of course, I should mention that this is about the fourth week in a row that I have been taking care of sick folks.
Now, I could have used all of this as an excuse to act in certain undesirable ways, and I will admit, I have. I could have used it as an excuse to blatantly and rudely dismiss the errant caller as “annoying,” telling myself “this is the last thing I need.” Again, I will admit, I was tempted, but look at the opportunity I would have missed. Our conversation took all of 3-5 minutes and seemed to help her in more ways than one. If nothing else, by the time we were done, she had a little taste of joy just knowing someone cared enough to talk with her. Will she visit? Will she change her life and make better choices? I do not know, but seeds were planted that can grow and produce fruit if she lets God in.
In this day, check your attitude at the door. Is it godly in nature and seeking righteous paths? Are we held back by it? Are we missing opportunities because of it? Are we missing out on hearing God’s will for our lives because of the noise of our poor attitudes and woe-is-me mindset? Let it go and let Him live in you so that you may find joy and peace.
