Last Friday, September 7, I had it so strongly in my heart to pray for Iran, especially Pastor Youcef who was being held in prison for his faith. So I prayed, long and late into the night, before I finally crashed. When I woke up on Saturday morning, my Facebook and phone had blown up with news that Pastor Youcef had been released to his family! Without going into the entire story, it had looked bleak, and Pastor Youcef had a death sentence hanging over his head. In the natural, there was nothing that would indicate he would ever be released, but there it was, a miracle!
My faith soared as it never had. That morning I cried and laughed and praised, and I knew that God could do anything and that He is still working miracles. Then Sunday happened. Sunday, I received a sucker punch to my faith, and got some disappointing news, and later in the week, I got sick. So, there it was...I went from the mountain to valley in 30 seconds flat, and there was some serious whiplash!
A couple weeks ago, I was watching a Texas Rangers baseball game, and during the game one of our Rangers had hit a home run. During his next at bat, the opposing pitcher plunked him smack in the ribs as a message of their displeasure. I seriously felt like this player. I had hit a home run, then got plunked. In the game, our next player came up to the plate and hit a home run, sending a message right back. Can we say "teamwork"? But, then that's a different blog.
On Monday night, I had the privilege of praying with some amazing men and women of God, and one of them said, "I feel like someone in here might be discouraged. Elijah once felt discouraged after a major victory. It's normal, and it will pass." This so encouraged my heart. Apparently, I am not the first one to suffer spiritual whiplash.
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| Elijah on Mt. Carmel, near Haifa, Israel |
In case you don't remember, Elijah was a prophet of God in a country where the king and queen had chosen to worship Baal instead. This made Elijah highly unpopular, as God does not like to share His glory, and did not appreciate Israel choosing another god. After some words, Elijah threw down the gauntlet and challenged King Ahab to send his best prophets of Baal and Elijah would meet them on Mt. Carmel, and there they would figure out who the true God was. It's actually a pretty entertaining story, as Elijah gets a little sarcastic with the prophets of Baal as they cry and pray and beat themselves trying to get Baal to answer. There's nothing like a little trash talk during a competition, right? When it's Elijah's turn, he rubs some salt in their wounds when he dowses his altar with water before calling on God to light it with fire. But, God shows up in a powerful way. Not only is Elijah's altar consumed completely, but all the people fell down and worshiped and encountered the living God. And, as if that wasn't enough, the drought was ended that same afternoon. Within just a couple days, the queen pronounced a death sentence on Elijah's life, and he fled his home and "prayed that he might die". (For the full version, I recommend checking out 1 Kings 18-19).
What's so great about this story is not that Elijah despaired, but that in his despair God spoke to him, and shortly after, he had one of the greatest encounters with the Lord. There was heavenly chiropractic adjustment, and healing for that spiritual whiplash. It was God coming in and reminding Elijah that he was not alone, and there were others to hit the ball out of the park after he got plunked. So, if you're suffering from some spiritual whiplash, be encouraged! You're not the first one. You're not the only one. And it will not last forever. And God is speaking to you, leading you to your next mountain of encounter. Will you hear Him?
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