Pressed hard

An interesting time, wouldn't you say?

Israel and Iran are staring at each other like Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago.  Who's going to try and throw the first punch?

Jobs once plentiful in our country are evaporating faster than a spilled cup of water on a Phoenix sidewalk.

Taxes on the increase.  More and more promised by the government.  Less and less being received.

Moral fabric tattered all about us.  Wear and tear here.  Full-blown holes there.

Last week, a friend compared our times quite well to a period in Elijah's life.  No, not Mr. Wood of Frodo Baggins fame.  The Tishbite of prophet fame.  You can read about the fellow in the book of 1 Kings in your Bible from the seventeenth chapter to the end of that book and a bit into 2 Kings.  A couple of the lessons my friend shared.

1.  Tough times aren't uncommon.  And often, you might have no control over being in the midst of such a challenging moment.  Do we respond with bitterness?  Or do we trust a sovereign God and dwell in the peace he has promised and appropriated for us?

2.  God provides.  Amidst the famine, food ran scarce.  No, food ran out.  One woman was getting ready to eat her last meal with her son after which time they would starve to death.  God provided.  Elijah fled for his life from a psychopathic queen and her infantile king.  One hundred miles.  In the wilderness.  And God provided food and water through a most peculiar avian method.  It's a theme that runs through God's word.  He cares for his people.

3.  God doesn't always provide on our time schedule.  I'd love a fat bank account.  Right now.  I'd like to know that I'll be able to go to the fridge and grab some OJ every day between now and my home going.  Perhaps I may find myself ready to bake my last loaf of bread with our last cup of flour.  Will I still trust him if he should choose to squeeze me from my comfort zone?

One other point, and it moves us from the individual to the national.

4.  God judges nations.  Israel's famine did not come about because their carbon footprint exceeded that of the Egyptians.  Nor did it occur because of El Nino in the eastern Mediterranean.  I don't think sheep methane had anything to do with it either.  God sent Elijah to Ahab to declare the three year famine.  Why?  Ahab and Jezebel had unleashed a godlessness upon the land that has echoed through the centuries.  It was punitive.

If we continue to reject God as a people, we can anticipate more troubles, trials, and times of testing within our nation.  That goes without saying.  But will we learn from Elijah and trust in the Lord?  Ah, there's the rub.