Mountains and Valleys (eBook)

Chapter 1

Elijah Was Not Immune,
and neither are we

“You may forget that you are at every moment totally dependent on God.”ii

— C. S. Lewis

I have lived in the Big Sky Country all of my life. Montana is known for many things, but one saying that I have heard growing up is that Montanans are a “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” kind of people. In other words, you can handle any situation by yourself. For a long time, I was convinced that it was our state’s culture to “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” until I heard the saying from a non-Montanan. I realized that this mentality was not solely a geographical belief but a human one.

Human independence is at the heart of the human condition. We believe that we can handle it independently if we try harder. If we never give up. If we never give in. We see this in the world of religious beliefs. If you do a deep dive into the beliefs of the religions of the world, you will find that all of them prioritize the pursuit of salvation through the means of man—all of them—except one. Christianity, at its core, is God’s pursuit for that which He has created. Sin has wreaked havoc upon the soul of mankind, and God has made a way to bring salvation—through Jesus Christ, His Son.

Humanity is designed to depend upon God. You and I are designed to rely on Him. Our humanity isn’t the curse; sin is. Humanity is a blessing of the Lord. It reminds us that there is a hero, and we are not Him. It is fitting for us to be reminded of our humanity. Recognizing our need for help is the first step of any life-changing program. God has wired each of us with the tool needed to respond to Him—humility. Humility begins with our agreement with the Holy Spirit when He says, “You can’t do this without me.”

Elijah the Tishbite had to come to grips with his humanity on more than one occasion. We are reminded of this by James, the leader of the Jerusalem Church, who wrote about it in chapter 5 of the letter bearing his name. In James 5, he encourages the church with many things and ends his letter with an encouragement to pray like Elijah, who was, in fact, human, just like them.

Elijah was a human being as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months, it did not rain on the land. Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the land produced fruit (James 5:17-18, emphasis mine).

God called Elijah to speak His Word, and he enters the story doing that very thing. In 1 Kings 17:1-7, Elijah receives and gives the Word of the Lord to Ahab, the king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, at the time. The Word is what James recalls—no rain. However, 1 Kings 17 says it a little differently:

Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab, “As the LORD-GOD of Israel lives, in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command” (v. 1, emphasis mine).

We can’t overlook the obvious here: Elijah had incredible faith! He believed the Message that the Lord had given him. He acted on that Word by sharing it with King Ahab and then believed it would continue to be valid until he told Ahab differently! The obedience of Elijah at this point is incredible. This experience is a mountain moment for Elijah.

Elijah is having a mountain moment. Mountain moments can be moments when the message giver, the messenger, the message, and the audience seem to line up in harmony. Many people can identify a mountain moment when they are operating in the calling, gifting, and anointing the Lord has placed in them for His purpose.

As a pastor, I can tell you that mountain moments are exciting! It is exciting when someone makes a profession of faith directly resulting from your faithful proclamation of the gospel message or when you baptize a group of youth who have decided to follow Christ. It is those moments when the church’s efforts are reaching the community, and God is doing beautiful things in the lives of those around you as a result. Mountain moments are happening when so many things cause us to say, “God is good,” with a smile on our faces.

Here, Elijah is in a mountain moment. When God speaks to Elijah, he proclaims the message, and the Word is proven true. And then Elijah says something interesting, “except by my command” (v. 1, emphasis mine)! Except by Elijah’s command? I thought it was the Lord’s command?

I have heard many times from other ministers about their desire for the “mountain moments never to stop.” I have sat around many tables full of leaders who echo that same sentiment. I, for one, am thankful that neither the mountains nor the valleys last forever. Imagine the destruction we would face as humans living for Christ if the mountain moments never ended.

Maybe the Lord feels the same way. Watch what happens next. The very next verse reveals an exciting turn of events.

Then the word of the LORD came to him: “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.” So he proceeded to do what the LORD commanded. Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith, where it enters the Jordan. The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and he would drink from the wadi. After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land (1 Kings 17:2-7, emphasis mine).

Elijah is led from the mountain to the valley, literally and figuratively. The Lord reveals to Elijah His plan to provide for him. That doesn’t sound too bad, especially with room service! But the other shoe hasn’t dropped yet. It is easy to write off that God uses an unclean bird (according to Jewish dietary laws) to deliver the bread to Elijah. However, these birds are also not known for their generous ways. Ravens are by nature scavengers and not providers. The fact that God commanded the ravens to provide for Elijah is a small-scale miracle in itself.

We see that “after a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land” (v. 7). Elijah is led to a desert valley where the Lord provides for him with bread from ravens and water from the brook. The food stops, and the water dries up because there has been no rain.

Elijah experiences a new reality. I wonder if he had thought that he wouldn’t share the same sufferings as everyone else because the Lord called him. Or maybe because he was the one that the Lord God had entrusted with the message that he would be immune to the suffering? Remember the Word of the Lord, the one about there being a famine? Elijah experienced the same famine that the rest of Israel experienced. He was not immune from the struggle. Elijah was not immune, and neither are we!

The Lord leads Elijah to the wilderness to reveal his humanness and need for the Lord. In the valley, Elijah is reminded that the Lord is faithful, Jehovah Jireh, the Lord, the provider. But, if we are not careful, the mountain can trick us into believing that we can do it independently of God. That is a dangerous place to be!

In every season, whether the mountain or the valley, Satan—the enemy of our soul—has laid a trap for us. We must avoid it at all costs. Watchfulness is necessary for every season. I wonder what would have happened if Elijah had not had that valley moment?

There is a tension worth managing within the Christian life: What I cannot do without Christ and what I can do through Christ. We know that we cannot save ourselves and live without His help. Yet, on the other hand, Christ saves us and empowers us to live for Him. This truth leads us to thankfulness, knowing that Christ is the essential factor either way.

Elijah was learning the importance of relying on the Lord. The LORD God was to remain his provider and his source.

Trust is the goal of every season. I would argue that the lesson is always trust. Both mountains and valleys call for faith. However, that trust looks different and demands different responses from us. We will discuss the depth of this truth throughout the chapters of this book. But, for now, consider the trust the Lord was asking of Elijah at this point in the story.

The Lord required trust when He commanded Elijah to receive, believe, and speak the word to King Ahab. Mountain moments often need us to step out in belief. Elijah exercises trust by resting in the promise of provision. I wonder what Elijah thought when the food stopped and the water dried up. Did he question the Lord or His methods? Have you ever been there?

I remember when my wife, Kristi, and I began serving as staff pastors in Thompson Falls, Montana. We knew that the Lord had called us to serve Him as ministers of the gospel. I received the Lord’s call into pastoral ministry when I was 12 years old. We had been faithful to serve in whatever way the Lord had allowed us to up until that point, and we were excited about this new opportunity.

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