DAY 125

CONNECTIVITY

1 Kings 19 & 20 and Luke 23:1- 25

More amazing Old Testament stories: in some ways today is about three “men” and God and Connectivity. Connectivity is one of our modern day words, especially since the dawn of the internet, but it has some deeper roots – onto to our group of three:

The first is Elijah. He had an amazing day yesterday. We left him having defeated the Prophets of Baal and with rain coming upon the land. Today Elijah is filled with fear after Jezebel confronts him. Elijah runs to the other country, Judah. It is somewhat interesting that Elijah’s attitude turns so quickly. God is with him though, feeding him and guiding him. The “fleeing and the hiding” is not only what Elijah did; it is what we experience when fear grips us: we run and hide. In the middle of this dramatic scene we read and experience even more – God’s very presence. In a powerful moment, a moment when Elijah most likely is wondering if he will die by the sword – he comes into the presence of God. It is in those moments of our lives that God can come as well.

Our second man is Ahab. It is a remarkable story. God is actually talking to Ahab and helping Ahab defeat an opposing army. I actually went back in my Bible to see if there was another King Ahab. There is not, this is the same Ahab that is described as “doing evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him.” (1 Kings 16:30) Yet God uses him for His, God’s, purposes. In the end Ahab fails to follow God allowing the enemy king, Ben-Hadad of Syria, to live. Ahab’s failure is played out dramatically through a prophet. While I pray we are “not doing evil in the sight of the Lord” there is a lesson here and it is that when we are following God, we need to stay with him.

The third “man” is Jesus. He is why I put the word man in quotes. For Jesus is man and also divine. I struggle as I read about Jesus, wondering if somehow he was able to do things because He was/is Divine and so therefore I am not. Here is another way I think about it – connectivity. Jesus is completely connected to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus is before Pilate, Herod and the Crowd and seemingly unmoved by any of it. There is no “breaking down and begging for mercy,” there is no condemning them,” and there is no “self-righteous indignation.” There is just the God-man, completely connected to God, and standing before those who seem to be completely disconnected.

Three “men” today: one gripped by fear yet not abandoned by God, one led by God in victory and yet succumbing to misguided reason, and one so connected to God that neither fear, nor human reason, nor anything else can disrupt their union. It seems to me that while none of us can “be God”, and certainly none of us should try (that was Satan’s error), we can and should constantly be seeking connection, union, and full association with Him – for it is in relationship that we can be sustained in all things.