Content to Sit

          Elijah ran off into the wilderness and plopped down under the juniper tree to “wallow in the mullygrubs.” Well, that’s how I heard it. I think the modern version goes something like: Elijah allowed a negative mind set to keep him from realizing he was a child of God and proclaiming the victory he was entitled to receive. Modernists are busy folks. They are always in a hurry to rush on to the next blessing. They view being discouraged or down-hearted as wasted time. However, you heard it; Elijah usually doesn’t come across as a champion of faith.

I’m not sure what Elijah’s detractors wanted him do. As we seen, he didn’t have directions from God. In such a case, sitting a spell should not be frowned upon. Elijah’s mistake was not in running and hiding. That strategy worked before and there was no reason to doubt it would work again. Elijah’s mistake was in his failure to be content in hiding. God had everything under control. Elijah was safe; Ahab and Jezebel weren’t going anywhere; he could afford to wait for a word from God. Instead, Elijah chose to complain that this whole episode with Ahab did not turn out as he expected. In all fairness to Elijah, being a prophet is hard work and he wasn’t the only one ever to voice complaint at relaying God’s message. I’ve felt Elijah’s pain; you may have as well. The lesson we all need to learn is to let the peace of God replace our complaints while we wait for God to turn things around.

Contentment is the outward sign of a heart filled with the faith-born peace of God. Paul told the church at Philippi, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Contentment is a delicate balance. It holds equal measures of prayer and thanksgiving; joy and sadness; weakness and strength, in such a way that we are not lost in either.

Elijah’s lifeline is not rock steady. It is filled with ups and downs; just like real life. We can be up and down and still be content. God is leading us over mountains and through valleys. Contentment means being happy that He is leading and unconcerned with the gradient of the road. Elijah saw himself as being run out of town. He might have just as easily seen himself, like the Marines at Chosin, not as retreating, but advancing in another direction. Contentment focuses on what God is doing rather than our feelings about what’s happening.

When we are focused on God, our goal is to please Him. Pleasing God is the only course that ends with contentment. Elijah clearly did not please himself. He didn’t please the masses and, forget about the king and queen; he just made them mad. If your sole purpose is to please someone other than God, you are going to be unhappy. God doesn’t please His people all the time. You will not be more successful at it than Him. The good news is that God is easier to please than people.

Elijah’s complain was akin to saying, “I did everything you asked and look how it turned out. I hope you’re satisfied.” It may help to know pleasing God is not the same as satisfying God. I’m not playing with semantics. To satisfy God is the live up to the measure: “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” It’s a tall order. Paul said he had not attained it. God will not be satisfied with you until you are as holy as He is in every way. On the other hand, God is pleased with every act of obedience no matter how small. We have no indication that God was anything but pleased with Elijah’s performance on Mt. Carmel. Was He satisfied that Elijah was completely holy—no, not by a long way.

 Knowing he had pleased God might have made Elijah a happier man. He might have enjoyed sitting under a tree and basking in God’s favor.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like he gave God the chance to tell him. To look at me now, you wouldn’t know I swam competitively in school. The 200m freestyle was one of my races. I swan it at every meet and did well. However, I was never satisfied with a single race. There was always something I felt I could have done better. I could have got off the block sooner; I could have gone out faster; I could have made tighter turns; there was always something to improve. Despite the needed improvements, I am pleased with my swimming career. The same can be said for my Christian experience. I’m not satisfied; I can do better. I’m content with that knowing God is pleased when I try my best.