E-Book: Elijah-Called, Tested, Sent

The story of Elijah is really the story of Elijah's God. Elijah lived in one of the darkest seasons in Israel's history. The king was wicked, the queen was worse, and the people had not abandoned God so much as added to Him. They wanted the LORD and Baal, a little bit of God and a little bit of everything else. Into that world God sent a prophet from nowhere with a message no one wanted to hear. Through drought and fire, ravens and rain, a widow's last meal, and a whisper on a mountain, God showed His people who He really is.

That is why each chapter in this book is named for God rather than for Elijah. He is the God who calls us to trust Him completely. The God of the next step. The God who is in control when life is not. The God who confronts our idols, who answers by fire, who keeps His promises, who sustains us when we have nothing left, who has the final word, who speaks boldly through His messengers, and who is still at work when one season ends and Elijah was, as James says, "a man with a nature like ours." He was bold and afraid, faithful and exhausted, sometimes on the same page. Which means the God who met him is the God who will meet you.

These chapters began as sermons preached at Heights Baptist Church. They have been reshaped for reading, so you do not need to have heard the series to follow along. Each chapter walks through one passage from 1 Kings 17 through 2 Kings 2 and stands on its own, though the story builds as it goes. At the end of each chapter you will find a few questions for reflection.

Use them on your own, with a friend, or in a small group. My prayer is simple. Wherever you are as you read this, beside a dried-up brook, scraping the bottom of the jar, or sitting under a broom tree wondering if you can go on, I pray you will see that what you see is not all God is doing. And I pray you will trust Him completely.