LENT 2020: Day 5

• LENT 2020: Day 5
• Monday, March 2, 2020:
  Psalm 32; 1 Kings 19:1-8; Hebrews 2:10-18

“You are my hiding place,” says the Psalmist.

I love this image of God as a hiding place. It speaks to me. There are times when I just want to run away and hide.

And that’s exactly what Elijah does in the reading today from 1 Kings. Elijah was afraid, the text says, and he ran for his life. And when he finally stops, he sits down and prays to die. Seriously. “Enough now, LORD,” says Elijah. “Take my life.”

Now, if Elijah had wanted to die, he could have just stayed put. Jezebel is coming to kill him. The reason he was running in the first place is because he doesn’t want to die.

But he’s in crisis. And when we’re in crisis, we’re not always in a rational place.

Notice that God doesn’t try to reason with Elijah. When someone isn’t rational, you can’t reason with them - and, in fact, trying to do so might even escalate the problem.

For a few years, I trained people around how to prevent and respond to crises. Our model recognized that persons in crisis go through a predictable set of stages. And how you should respond depends on the stage.

I find it interesting that the angel in our text is nonjudgmental, supportive, and direct, which is exactly the right move for the stage Elijah is in.

It’s also interesting that the first attempt to intervene is not entirely successful. Elijah is better after eating, but he is still not ready to go on. The angel doesn’t rush him either, but simply comes back a second time. And only then is Elijah well enough to go on.

Thanks be to the God who is our hiding place, and who sends angels to minister to us when it feels like we can’t go on.