A friend of mine recently told me she was feeling uncertain about future. Then she shared a story in the life of Elijah that has given her insight and encouragement.

Perhaps you are in this wilderness as well, waiting for God to lead. I pray that my friend’s story will encourage you as it did her (and me). Here it is, in her own words.

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I stand here at age 68, on the brink of a new, yet unclear chapter in my life. The past six years have been years of constant shifting. Many of the things I had been called to and which gave me a sense of purpose, have slipped away during these years.

Six years ago, barely into retirement, my fun and loving husband went home to the Lord. Almost three years ago, my sweet mother, whom I helped care for, went home to the Lord during the pandemic. Like everyone else, my involvement with church and community were also lost during the pandemic. My grandchildren, whom I treasured taking care of in their preschool years, couldn’t come over during the pandemic—and now they are all in school. Then this past year I was diagnosed with and treated for cancer (currently in a tentative remission).

So here I am: I have lost my clear sense of purpose; I don’t have my former vision for a long future; I haven’t yet regained that familiar niche in my church or community; I have lost my footing. But not really.

God in His faithfulness has been ever present, He has kept my feet on the Rock. Through it all, I have been showered with his tender love and mercy, and his sustaining grace. But what do I do now?

Consider Elijah

In these last few weeks the Lord has been opening his Word to me as I stand in this “wilderness.” I was reading I Kings 18, about how Elijah had just partaken in a miraculous showdown between the Lord God and the false god Baal.

But the response ( chapter 19) wasn’t as Elijah had anticipated. There wasn’t a great revival. Instead he found himself running for his life into the wilderness. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now. He was ready to give up. He had lost his footing.

And in came God to chide him and reprimand him, right?

Wrong. Instead of God reprimanding him, God let Elijah sleep awhile. Then God nudged him awake and gave him nourishment. Again God let him sleep, and once more he woke him for nourishment.

An angel woke Elijah and gave him food

God understood. He knew that “the journey was too much” for him (vs 7). Instead of immediately pushing Elijah back into the ring, God first provided what Elijah badly needed: rest and nourishment.

Then God gave Elijah instructions for the next step in his journey. God didn’t lay out the future plan yet, but just the direction of the journey to get there.

“Go to Mt. Horeb.” This required 40 days of walking in the wilderness. It gave Elijah time to reflect. And it gave God time to prepare Elijah for what God would call him to next. Finally Elijah entered a cave on the mountain and God asked him, “What are you doing here?” Elijah, feeling alone, defeated, and confused, relayed the disastrous outcome of recent events. Then God did something surprising…

…He passed by the mountain in an unexpected manner: powerful winds, an earthquake, and fire tore at the mountain, but unlike the miraculous showdown with Baal, God was not in these powerful displays. Instead, God came in a whisper. God was still God, and God was still with Elijah, whether in powerful displays, or in a whisper in the wilderness.

Elijah wrapped himself in his cloak and went out to listen. God asked him again “What are you doing here?”

This time Elijah was ready

He had been given nourishment and rest. He had been given time for reflection, and stillness to hear God speak to him. His focus had been adjusted back to God rather than circumstances, and then the feelings of defeat and confusion lifted. God encouraged him, assuring him that he was not alone. God had readied Elijah to receive and carry out his next commission.

I am so thankful for this story about Elijah. I may feel like I am floundering, but I am not. I may not see God’s precise plans that lay ahead, but they are there—God is preparing them, and He is preparing me. I will be ready for whatever He calls me to because He is the one who readies me. “He trains my hands for battle” (Ps. 144:1).

He will unfold His plan according to His perfect timing. Maybe with a longterm view, maybe just one step at a time. Either way, I know that by God’s grace, I will be ready, like Elijah, to go where He calls, whether short term or longterm, whether bold or whispered, because “I am confident that He who began a good work in me will complete it at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). It is HIS work, and so I can depend on it.

(All photos are from Free Bible Images.)

Ginger