365 Days of the Names of God, Day 227: God of Elijah

God of Elijah

"Then Elijah said to all the people, 'Come here to me.' They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which had been torn down. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, 'Your name shall be Israel.' With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, 'Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.' 'Do it again,'he said, and they did it again. 'Do it a third time,' he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench. At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: 'LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.' Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, 'The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!'" (1 Kings 18:30-39 NIV)

The last time I tried to build a fire using wet wood, things didn't go so well.

My friend Sarah and I were camping in Shenandoah National Park a couple summers after we'd both graduated from college and were working together at our first "real" jobs. We were not novice campers, having grown up in camping families. But there's a difference between roasting a marshmallow over a fire that someone else has built and tended down to optimum coal stage (thanks, Dad!) and building one yourself out of wood you bought in the park at the mercy of its seller. (Read: not Dad.)

After Sarah and I had worked valiantly but ineffectually on our poor smoldering fire, an older guy from a nearby campsite took pity on us. "Looks like you're having some trouble," he said and poured gasoline or lighter fluid or something similar on our wet wood...which subsequently produced enough flame for a marshmallow or two (I think).

Why did God want the pile of wood Elijah called on Him to ignite that day doused with water? Of course you know it was for the same reason He wanted Lazarus good and dead before He stepped in and took obvious action: to make a point. To show off His power. To more fully display His glory. 

If you and I did this, we'd run the risk of being cocky or self-absorbed, but God, who has no fault in His ways, does it to increase our faith. He does it to leave no doubt about what's happening and Who's making it happen. He does it because, in His longing for relationship with us, He wants to make it all but impossible for us to deny Him. He leaves the final choice up to us and to the free will that makes us human, but He leads us right up to the point of dropping to our knees and declaring, "The LORD He is God! The LORD He is God!" And, having recognized this, He then wants more than anything for us to get up off our knees and cry or whisper or sing or shout, "The LORD He is my God. The LORD He is my God."

Is there some wet wood in your life right now? Maybe a relationship or a job or a decision or a longing of your heart that just will NOT catch fire? Maybe Elijah is a good reminder that God is more than able to ignite it, for the display of His splendor. Ask Him to set it ablaze, stand back, and watch His glory burn.

*   *   *   *   *   *
God, here is my pile of wet wood. Sometimes I'm not sure if it's wet because it's worthless or wet because You've drenched it in Your Spirit and are just waiting to fire it up. Either way, ignite it with Your power, and if ashes are all that's left, bring beauty out of them.