I was Elijah today.
It was a welcome opportunity to get back out on the trails in the middle of February in southwestern Ohio. Snow had blanketed the ground for most of the last two months and the miles churned out on the treadmill had been dreaded and monotonous.
The warm weather of the last few days had pulled back the white blanket from even those areas most protected from the sun. However, in the place of the slick white stuff, I now was confronted with sucking, deep, dark, brown mud. Resisting the urge to curse the mud, I (rather uncharacteristically) thanked God for the warmth of the winter sun that had made it possible and had softened the hard-frozen path that meandered in a 3.1-mile loop of a favorite park.
As I picked my steps along the familiar trail on what was to be a 9.3-mile run, the sunlight spackled my way thru oaks, maples, locusts, and birches beaten bare by the snow, ice, and wind of the season. Hard edges and abrupt angles comprised their limbs that in a few weeks will be softened by the emergence of promising buds.
The path undulated, giving my imagination the impression of running the back of the Loch Ness Monster gliding along the surface of that great Scottish basin. Rather than an impediment, these gentle rises and falls seem an invigoration to my strides. That is not the case, however, with The Three.
The Three is a name I have given to the three largest uphill climbs in the loop. The first is a relatively small steep section immediately followed by a rather long and gradual climb that ends about halfway around the loop. The second is the most dreaded and is much the reverse of the first: a gentle rise that switchbacks a couple times into a long, precipitous ascent. The final of The Three is, perhaps, the shortest and tallest - - consisting mostly of step-like rocks protruding from the hillside.
I was Elijah today.
Three 3.1-mile loops whose turf belongs to The Three. Nine hilly challenges for my legs and lungs this warm, winter day. Each member of The Three thrice threatened to thwart me. Desiring to subdue my stubborn strides (emphasis on stubborn) into a vanquished walk. Not today.
Nine times, though, I found myself wondering if I could, indeed, complete my run. Each of these times was a direct result of one of the hilly members of The Three. None of these doubts occurred in the midst of the climb, though. It was, rather, upon successful completion of the tests that my resolve wavered.
I was Elijah today.
In Second Kings, chapter 18, God’s man, Elijah, confronts the steep task of facing down Israel’s narcissistic King Ahab. Ahab has turned the hearts of God’s people to the false god Baal and now Elijah challenges the king and all 450 of Baal’s prophets to a showdown on Mt. Carmel.
The test is simple in design: Each camp is to prepare a bull for sacrifice to the one they worship - - the 450 for Baal and Elijah for The LORD. Their task is to prepare and pray. The deity who sends down fire to consume his respective bull will prove that he, indeed, is The God.
From morning ‘til evening, Baal’s henchmen beg, plead, implore, and petition their god. Nothing. In moments that border on arrogance, Elijah taunts them, wondering if Baal might be sleeping, or on a trip, or, perhaps even, “dropping the kids off at the pool” (if ya know what I mean). Still they persist in their sincere supplications. And then it happens. Nothing!
Elijah turns his attention to the second bull - - the one picked by Baal’s prophets to be offered to The LORD. He pulls 12 stones together to form an altar and digs a trench around it big enough to hold 3.5 gallons of water. He arranges the woodon the stones. Prepares the bull on top of the wood. And then proceeds to have the bull soaked with 12 jars of water that saturate the bull, the wood, and roll off until water fills the trench.
A two-sentence prayer.
“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.” And a chant arose from all the people: “The LORD – He is God! The LORD – He is God!”
Then, to put him over the top, Elijah warns Ahab to hurry home because, even though it had hardly rained in three years, a downpour was on its way. And so it was.
But while it was still raining, Ahab’s queen threatens Elijah’s life and sends him running. Running for about 73 miles - - several days - - until he finally collapses in the shade of a small juniper. There - - having completed the climb, conquered the enemies of God, and turned the hearts of God’s people - - there Elijah prays for God to end his life.
But God sends an angel with food and drink for Elijah. Then, after having allowed the man of God a time of rest, the angel returns with more nourishment & encouragement and he sends Elijah on his way.
I was Elijah today.
Whenever I crest the peak of one of The Three, having met the challenge it laid before me. Whenever, I find myself again on the flatland that, in my mind, should mean relief to weary muscles and heaving lungs. Whenever I’m in the clear, yet still exhausted & discouraged, I remember Elijah and I continue on the path - - knowing that my muscles will recover, my breathing will normalize, and now is not the time to make a major decision - like quitting the course before me.
Life is full of challenges.
This is Challenge Pointe.
Semper Fidelis.
Doug
