This week we have moved onto the prophet Elijah, one of the great ones who was taken up into heaven on a chariot at the end of his ministry rather than die. He may have been one of the great prophets but here we get a glimpse into the life of Elijah and see that not everything is going well. Elijah had been making some pretty big statements and backing them up with action. He had bested the prophets of Baal proving that the Lord God is the true God. Elijah finishes chapter 18 by killing them all. Now, the problem with all of this action was that Queen Jezebel was a follower of Baal and she was not happy at all. In fact, she declared that she would do to Elijah what Elijah had done to ‘her’ prophets. So, Elijah fled. Everything was going wrong. He had won a great victory for God, but instead of glory he was running for his life. We read that Elijah gave up and asked God to take his life. Elijah’s life has reached a defining moment. A servant of God, zealous in his actions he has become a lone voice and is under pressure from all sides. He is despairing. All around him is noise and chaos. He appears to be suffering from guilt and is showing all the signs of being depressed. He has endured alone enough. Hopelessness is taking a grip of his emotions. Elijah, in his deepest need, is touched by the hand of an angel. Not once, but twice, God comes to him and provides the provision for both body and soul that he needs for the journey. Significantly he is shown to a cave—a place where he can rest, be safe and gather his strength. It is an episode of ‘affirmation’ for Elijah, a moment when he is anointed and reclaimed by God. This story of Elijah reminds me that God calls and reclaims us continuously. Calls from God come to us at all ages. We don’t need to be young, we don’t need to be older, we just need to be open to the voice of God when it comes. This title of Go Reclaim speaks to me about our world at this moment as well. We are beginning to reclaim what we have called normal, what we believe is our right and that we deserve. Freedom, connection with family and friends, security are all things we deserve, but the past 2 years will have an impact on what reclaiming our lives might mean. Hopefully you agree with me that the lives we are aiming to reclaim from here on will be different. This time has affected us all in very many different ways. We’ve lost things that we will never get back, but we have also gained many things we never had before. This is the time to begin to reclaim the Kingdom of God, the way of life that Jesus challenges to live day to day. I wonder how that idea will influence our steps towards reclaiming our lives today? Jay Robinson
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