The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - When You Go from High to Low

Episode Date: June 24, 2022

Have you ever experienced going from a high in your life to a low? Many of us have, and today, Jeff shares the story of Elijah to give us important reminders for when we experience such moments in our own lives. Snippet from the Show Hearts change when the good news of the Gospel is shared with them. Email us with comments or questions at [e-mail]. Text “jeffcavins” to 33-777 to subscribe and get Jeff’s shownotes delivered straight to your email! Or visit ascensionpress.com/thejeffcavinsshow for full shownotes!

Welcome to the Jeff Kaven Show, where we talk about the Bible, discipleship, and evangelization, putting it all together in living as activated disciples. This is show 276, when you go from high to low. Hey, just got back from the Holy Land, speaking about going from high to high. low. When you go to the Holy Land, you're always going up. In fact, that's a famous phrase that you go up to Jerusalem, even from Mount Everest. If you're going to go from Everest to Jerusalem, you're going to go up to Jerusalem because it just doesn't get much better than that. Now, does it? But it's good to be back, and I've got so much I want to share with you this week. It really was a tremendous this trip. And, you know, when we talk about going from high to low, I was on some really high

places. And then we went to the lowest place on earth, which is the baptism of Jesus, down in the wilderness of Judea, just north of the Dead Sea. I do hope you can join me someday on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. We were accompanied this time by Father Ryan Richardson. He's the chaplain down at Benedictine in Etchus and Kansas. What a great priest. I just loved working with him. Ali Aaliyah provided phenomenal music, and she was our canter. And we decided to do a pop-up trip, and that was, you know, after two years of having trips to the Holy Land canceled, we thought, well, I wonder if anybody wants to go. So we just, we put the word out there, and boom, overnight, it was sold out.

So the answer is, yes, people do. Do want to go to the Holy Land. Our next big trip, I think January might be sold out. But next June, put that on your calendar. Father Mike Schmitz and I are going to be leading a trip to the Holy Land next June. And I'll have more information in the coming weeks about that for you. And you can get your name in the queue for that. Well, have you ever gone from highs to lows talking about one moment,

everything is going your way and everything seems to be lining up? And life couldn't be better. You know, like in February of 2021, or 2020, I think it was. Emily was telling me we were down south, she said, could life ever get better? And right around the corner was COVID. But have you ever experienced anything like this where you went from extreme yes to all a sudden everything seemed to fall apart in your life? And you're thinking to yourself, what do I do now?

How do I handle this? and I've known many people who've gone through that. You know, I was a pastor for 12 years before coming back to the Catholic Church, and I met with a lot of people who, one or two weeks earlier, life couldn't have been any better, but suddenly things happen, and wow, they were discouraged. You know, there's a pull in our society to do big and spectacular things for either a cause or patriotic purposes or for religion, and we have a tendency to think that, that that's where we need to be all the time, is that big experience, you know.

And the problem with that is that it's very hard to sustain life on top of the mountain. Even the transfiguration on Mount Tabor in the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus was with Elijah and Moses and Peter, James, and John were there, and Jesus lit up, like, transfigured in an amazing way. And still then, they had to go down from the mountain into, into everyday life. I've heard people talk recently about the shape of our country and ask, what can we do to turn things around? What can we do to turn things around? And right away, we come up with the idea that bigger is better, bigger, better, faster. And if we're going to do

something, it's got to be big, you know, really, really big. After all, we have better technology than ever. And we can do more. We can be more places at the same time. We could have a mega conference like none other you know there's all kinds of things that we could do and we automatically think of of these types of things so what do you do well let's learn some lessons from elijah today i want to take a look at an incident in elijah's life where he went from what i would call extreme highs and i'm not talking about about bipolar in any way and that's a disease that people struggle with, it certainly requires prayer and counsel and in some cases, medication, right? But I'm talking about just everyday experiences where you go from high to low. And that's what

Elijah did in First Kings chapter 18 and 19. So I want to go through that with you and take some points away that might be helpful. If you're experiencing that in your life right now. Now, in order to understand what's happening in Elijah's life, I've got to go back and give just a little bit of history so that you understand the situation that Elijah is facing. Now, if you have studied the Great Adventure, and I've got my hands right now in the Great Adventure Bible, that's lovely Bible, if you studied the Great Adventure with me, you know that one of the biggest shifts in Salvation History was in 930 BC when Israel divided into two nations, 10 tribes to the north with the same name as Israel, and then two tribes in the south around

Jerusalem called Judah. So you have two individual countries. The north is Israel, the south is Judah, and the north is not doing well at all. In fact, the king of the north at this particular time is Ahab with his lovely wife, Jezebel. And things are just going south. really quick. They're going south in the north, and I guess you could say. And Elijah, the prophet, is really bummed about this. And he is struggling with what is happening in the north. And so what he's going to do in chapter 18 of First Kings, and I'll put this in the show notes for you, is that he wants to have a showdown. He wants to rent AT&T Stadium where the Cowboys play. And he wants Fox and CNN and MSNBC, ABC, CBS, all of them to be there to cover the event, to show the people

that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the only true God, not what the North is getting involved in with bail worship. Bail worship was a dangerous thing up in the North because the North had so many riches. It had predictable lifestyle, rainfall, crops, big noisy cities. could life ever get better? Well, when Israel initially came into the country, they met with these people in the North and tried to find out what is the key to your success. And of course, they said, it's our religion. It's bail worship. We worship bail. Well, after the kingdom divided in 930 BC, when you know it, the North got thoroughly involved in bail worship. And this is what is really bugging Elijah. So he wants to make a difference here. And when we

we look at the story of Elijah in his battle with Ahab and Jezebel in the north, we're going to see a man who did everything he could to bring about the results that he imagined. And it's going to be a big thing, like I said, at AT&T. He's going to have this confrontation with the prophets of bail. So when you do what the Lord tells you to do, but you don't see the results that you imagined, a series of events can begin to play out. So let's take a little. look at the story here. Again, it's First Kings chapter 18. And it starts off with verse 17. When in the scripture says, when Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, is it you, you troubler of Israel? And Elijah answered him and said, I have not troubled Israel, but you have in your father's

house because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and followed the bales. Now, therefore, send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel and the 450 prophets of Bail and the 400 prophets of Asherah who ate the Jezebel's table. So what Elijah is saying to Ahab is, I'm not a troubler, you are. And we're going to settle this thing at the OK Corral. I want you to get all of your prophets together and the people at Mount Carmel in the north of the country, and we're going to have it out. Okay. And so that's exactly what happened. Now, the setting of this, the setting is Mount Carmel. Do you know I was just there less than two weeks ago, standing on top of that mountain and looking down at the creek below and contemplating this story. And at the time, didn't actually think I was going to be talking about it today. But the more I think about it, the more I thought, I need to share this with you. So now in chapter 18, starting in verse 23, we have the rules to the game of this showdown about the prophets of bail meeting Elijah.

Here's what it says. Let two bulls be given to us and let them choose one bull for themselves, okay? And cut it in pieces and lay it on wood, but put no fire to it. And I'll prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. so we've got two offerings that are built up with wood a bull on top of it and no fire yet and then Elijah says we'll do this you call on the name of your god bail and I will call upon the name of the Lord the God who answers by fire he's God seems like a pretty straightforward ordeal doesn't it? It's a straightforward

contest. And all the people answered, it is well spoken. So Elijah said to the prophets of Bail, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call on the name of your God, but put no fire to it. And they took the bull which was given

them, and they prepared it called on the name of Bail from morning until noon, saying, O Bail, answer us. But there was not any voice. Go figure. And no one answered. And they, they limped about the altar. You can imagine this in your mind's eye. They limped about the altar, which they had made. And at noon, Elijah started mocking them. And he cried aloud. He said, he says, cry. Cry aloud. For he is a god. Either he is

musing, or he has gone aside, or he's on a journey. Or perhaps he's asleep and must be awakened so you see he's mocking the prophets of bail and their god with a small g and they cried aloud and get this they cut themselves and that was part of the custom of the uh the north and the people who worship bail they cut themselves with swords and lances until the blood gushed out upon them nice thing and as midday passed they raved on until the time of the offer of the oblation, and there was no voice. No one answered. No one he did. Now, you can imagine how silly they must have felt at that point after they've been cutting themselves and limping around this offering and yelling, answer us, O'Bail, and not a thing happened. Nothing, nada. Then in

verse 30, then Elijah said to all the people, come near to me. All the people came near to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. Elijah took 12 stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be your name. And with the stones, he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he made a trench around the altar, as great as wood contained two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, Now, get this, it's all set. But he's going to up the ante here.

He says, fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood. Get it soaked, waterlogged. And he said, do it a second time. So there's eight jars now that have been poured onto the offering. And then they did it a second time and get this. He says, do it a third time. So there's four of these big water pots that have been thrown on the wood. and on the altar and the animal and everything else.

And the water, in fact, had run about the altar and it filled a trench around it. That's a lot of water. If you were the prophets of bail watching this, you'd think, what in the world are you guys doing? You're mad. And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said,

now notice he doesn't cut himself, he doesn't run around limping and all that. He just says, Oh, Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I'm your servant and that I have done all these things at your word. And answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have turned their hearts back. And that seems to be what Elijah is hoping for here is that the people who have been worshipping bail would have their hearts turned back if they could just see something. spectacular. Something big, something overwhelming, something never seen before. Certainly,

something that big would turn people's hearts back, wouldn't it? Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, The Lord, He is God. The Lord, He is God. And Elish has said to them, seize the prophets of bail. Let not one of them escape and they seized them and Elijah brought them down to the brook kishan which i was at about nine days ago and they were destroyed there they were defeated okay so there's what you have you got the show down at AT&T stadium in dallas and all the networks are reporting that the true god is the god of israel and certainly the people are going to turn their hearts back

to God. But you know what? That's not what happened. It's not what happened. In fact, what we find out is that there's very little change in the hearts of the people. And in fact, the King Ahab, King of the North, King of Israel, Ahab and his lovely wife, Jezebel, they are torched. They are ticked off. They are angry. They are infuriated at this demonstration of power and the loss of the 450 prophets of bail. And so in chapter 19, we get the response from Jezebel. She seems to be doing the talking here. And this ordeal says in verse one, Ahab told Jezebel and all that Elijah had done and how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. And then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying,

so may the gods do to me and more also if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow that's quite a a direct message that's quite a tweet that is quite a message and then he was afraid well on one hand you could say duh here's the here's the the king and his wife saying you're going to be dead tomorrow in the same way those prophets died, you're going to be dead tomorrow at this time. So suddenly, the guy who is higher than a kite at this great victory at Mount Carmel is now suddenly frightened and frozen. That's what I mean by going from high to low.

Maybe you've experienced that, you know, where, or, you know, on Monday, everything is going so well. And by Wednesday, something happens, whether it's financial or social or in the family, at work. And you're thinking, oh, my gosh, I have gone. from so high to so low now. So he was afraid and he arose and went for his life and came to Bersheva, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. Well, what's interesting about this is that right after this happened, after this great

victory on Carmel, Elijah actually went into Jesrael, and that is the city. That's the place, like a capital, and it's almost in your face. You know, he went there and he hears this message, and now he hightails it from the north part of Israel, all the way down to Bersheba. Bersheva. We say Bersheba in English. It's Bersheva. And that is down in the south.

That's south of modern-day Tel Aviv, down by the edge of the desert. So he goes down there, and it was a whole day's journey into the wilderness that he took, and he came and he sat down under a broom tree, and he asked that he might die. Wow. You talk about going from high to low. On one day, he's up for the Pulitzer and all of the awards and everything else. The next day, he's under a broom tree in the desert saying, I want to die. It's enough.

Now, O Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my father's. And he lay down and slept under a broom tree, and behold, an angel touched him and said to him, arise and eat. So there he is running from God, running from the whole situation, and he's under a broom tree. and what happens. God cooks for him, sends an angel and cooks him up something. And he looked and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, arise and eat, else the journey will be too great for you. So then after that, what happened? he got up he was strengthened and he took a 40 day walk that's right he took a 40 day

40 day walk even headed further south and bearsheva all the way down to mount horib now if you know your bible you'll know that mount horrib is a long ways away that's mount sinai that's down in the sinai peninsula and he gets there and he comes to a cave at mount sinai and he lodges there and behold the word of the Lord came to him and said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? What are you doing here? And he said, oh, he said, oh, God, I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the sons of Israel, have forsaken your covenant,

thrown down your altars, and slain your prophets with the sword. And I, even I only am left. And they seek my life to take it away. and he said, go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord. Now, you see, he's down there, and the Lord wants to speak to him. And the Lord is going to speak to him in an extraordinary way. But it isn't going to be this great, big, fantastical, unbelievable way. Like Elijah with the prophets of bail on Mount Carmel,

scripture says, and behold the Lord passed by in a great strong wind tore the mountains and broken pieces, the rocks before the Lord. But get this, the Lord was not in the wind. It was a big, amazing thing that took place, but God wasn't in it. It was spectacular, to be sure, but God wasn't in it. And after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. Now, that That doesn't mean that the Lord can't speak to you in wind, earthquake, and fire, because we have other instances in the Bible where he does this, like the wind on the day of Pentecost.

So it isn't that God can't speak in the earthquake, the wind, and the fire, that in this case he doesn't. But how does he speak to Elijah? It says, in a still small voice. Isn't that beautiful, in a still small voice? I love that. That's verse 12 of chapter 19. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, what are you doing here, Elijah again? He said, I have been very jealous for the

Lord, the God of hosts. He goes through his speech again. And you know what the Lord ends up telling him? Go. Return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. That's way up there. Up north again. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Haziel to be king over Syria. And Yehu, the son of Nimshi, you shall anoint to be king over Israel. And Elisha, the son of Shafat, you shall anoint him to be a prophet in your place. So he's giving Elijah the instructions that he needs after sacrificing up at Carmel and destroying the prophets of bail. but he had to go all the way south to get this. He had to go down to the bottom of the barrel.

He was so afraid, so discouraged, and God simply wanted to speak some things to him, and he went down there, and God didn't speak in the wind or the earthquake or the fire, but he spoke in a still small voice. I want to bring just a few lessons together on this, on the other side of the break, that might be helpful for you,

if you have gone from very high to very low, You're listening to The Jeff Kaven Show. Hi, we're Jackie and Bobby Angel with Ascension Presents, and we wrote a book. Yay! It's on discernment, which is figuring out the will of God in your life, which can be an exciting and yet exhausting endeavor. It's called Pray, Decide, and Don't Worry, Five Steps to Discerning God's Will. And we wrote it with Father Mike Schmitz from Ascension Presents. You might know him.

You may know that guy. The book is concise, but there's lots of wisdom for any person that really wants to do God's will. And it's a journey trying to figure out what God wants for your life. And so there's a lot of wisdom from things we've learned along the way. There's testimonies and parts of our stories to help you out. Really, like, this is a book I wish I had as a young adult. Like, this would help me a lot in my 20s. Discernment is a question we get asked all the time.

Where is God calling me? What am I called to? What vocation am I called to? How do I know if I'm supposed to take this job? How do I know this? So we wrote this book to help you along the way, to give five steps to discern whatever decision you're making and hopefully to give that peace and that joy that will come from making that decision. And the main goal is to help you grow closer to God along the way.

So maybe not you. Maybe someone in your life is wrestling with a really tough decision and you want to give them some kind of resource or encouragement. It's for if you've got a big decision period. Yeah. So go get your copy of Pray Decide and Don't Worry. go buy one for a friend, buy one for someone who's not your friend. Love your enemies.

Buy them this book. Go to Ascensionpress.com and get your copy today. We're talking again about Elijah who rented AT&T Stadium and had a showdown with the prophets of bail one, I might add. It was God's victory. And God wanted to speak to him. but because of fear, Elijah ran, and he went down to Bersheva. Then he did a 40-day hike into the wilderness and got all the way down to Mount Sinai. And he was down there feeling sorry for himself.

Oh, he was worn out and everything. And he was looking for God in the wind, in the earthquake and the fire. But God wasn't in those things. God was in this still small voice. And he gave him instructions on how to go back up. north and continue on with the narrative. And so what are some lessons that we can learn from this? Well, number one, it's important to realize that Elijah fell not at the bottom of his game. Not midway, he fell at the top of his game. He collapsed at the top of his game. He had just

broken all the ratings on television with this showdown at AT&T with the prophets of bail. He was at the top of his game. He could have signed book deals at this point. But just one person, Jezebel, representing King Ahab in the north, said, you're going to be dead in 24 hours. Well, that ruined everything for him at the top of his game. And there's a warning there that if you have experienced a great victory in your life or some kind of event that you would say, wow, could it get any better than this? Watch out. Because there's a vulnerability at that point where many a leader has fallen at the point of great victory, of great victory. Michael Phelps talks about this.

He won 28 Olympic medals in swimming, and he spoke of his fall after winning gold. He said, really, after every Olympic, he said, I think I fell into a major state of depression when he was asked to pinpoint when his troubles began. He said it was right after I won the gold is when. I fell. Have you ever predetermined what the result of your work would look like when you were done or only to become depressed as a result? Scripture says something very important about this.

It says in Proverbs 13 in verse 12, and I'll put it in the show notes for you. If you don't have the show notes, just text me. The number is 3377 and just text my name, Jeff Kaven's one word. We'll get you the notes. Proverbs 1312, scripture says, hope deferred makes the heart sick and boy it does you ever had hope deferred in your life you're all excited and high on life and suddenly everything changed hope deferred how did you feel makes your heart feel sick so elijah fell at the top of his game be aware of that if you have are coming off of a

a real high at work or at home or financially or anything else the best thing you can do is seek the Lord right away. And don't look for other spectacular things to take place. Go be with the Lord. Number two, a lot of people would think, well, God let Elijah down after that, because the people in the North didn't repent. No, no, Elijah's plan let Elijah down. Your expectations may not be gods. If we do what the Lord tells us to do, that is enough. We're not responsible to make results happen. And once we do what the Lord tells us to do, we really do not need to be afraid of man. And that's what Elijah fell for. He became fearful. His plan and his expectations led to fear. And fear will immobilize you. It really will. Another thing we can learn,

number three, is the importance of rest. The importance of rest. And this is what Elijah, first of all, he's probably very worn out after he took on the prophets of bail. That was quite the deal. And he needed rest. And he took that rest. And God ministered to him in the midst of the rest. He was there. And the Lord fed him and gave him drink and restored him at that point.

But then it was after that that he headed on a 40-day jaunt down to Sinai. The fourth thing that I would say in the midst of this kind of a situation is don't look for the spectacular to be the norm. Don't look for the spectacular to be the norm. Elijah thought that this spectacular thing would certainly turn the country around. But you know what? It doesn't. Just because something is spectacular doesn't mean that hearts are going to change. hearts change when the good news of the gospel is shared with them, the carigma, which we've talked a lot about recently on the show. It isn't big happenings. Yes, after 9-11, did people start to turn to God? They did for a while. But then life was normal after that. There is an

inordinate amount of expectation among us, God's people, that God will speak to us in the big, spectacular events. But remember the story in the New Testament? This is important. Do you remember the rich man who died, who had everything in his life going for him? And when he died, he saw Lazarus, a very poor man with sores on him during his time on earth. And so the rich man was in a place that was irreversible, at least from his perspective. Well, he thought it might be reversible. He's going to beg for that. But he's in a place and there's a chasm between the rich man and Lazarus, and the rich man begs God, begs God to go to his family back on earth to do what? Something spectacular. Yes, God, if you'll go back to my relatives and do

something spectacular, then they will repent and avoid the place I'm in. Jesus responds by saying, you know what? They have Moses and the prophets. They won't live. They won't live. listen to the word of God, they're not going to listen even if a man is raised from the dead. It's God's word that is powerful. I'm reminded of that text, man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. It's God's God's word that is powerful. And people sometimes they'll say, well, I want my relatives to come to the Lord, just like the rich man. I want my relatives to come to the Lord. Lord, do something spectacular in their life.

When all along, it was the still small voice. It's the word of God. It proceeds from your lips and my lips to those who need to hear it. And so prayer and God's word trump. Trump's sensational events. If you want to see transformation in your life, spend much time in God's word. rather than looking for the fantastical and spectacular events around the country. Those are fine events.

Don't get me wrong. We need them sometimes, don't we? We need a conference or two. Not every week, but it's nice to get together now and then. They're fine. They're certainly unusual, but it's his word, his word that will transform your life. And it's his word that you're looking for. And so the fourth point is the still small voice.

You know that in all the major decisions that I've had to make in my life, it was the still small voice that really spoke to me and showed me which way to walk. Not one time in my life where I made a major change. Was there loudness and spectacular things going on? Not at all. the decision was made in the quiet with the still small voice the decision was not made in the wind or the earthquake or the fire but the still small voice what god is saying to elijah is that what turns things around is my voice my word elijah just came off of a spectacular event with the prophets of bail how interesting it was that he couldn't hear god in the wind in the earthquake or the fire. Turn down the volume, Elijah. God's trying to speak to you. And Jesus demonstrated this while

living in the desert for 40 days, didn't he? He had no big events out there, but the enemy offered him three big events. He said that, you know, if you're the son of God, do a big event. Turn that rock into bread. If you're the son of God, do a big event. Go up to the, you know, the top of the temple and Throw yourself down and watch God save you. And if you are the Son of God, bow down and worship me. I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world. He didn't fall for this spectacular, did he? What did he do?

He simply said, it is written. That's the power. And then fourth or fifth, and the last point that I would bring out is this one, and it's so important, and that is that when you are, coming off of some kind of victory in your life or a high in your life, isolation can exacerbate discouragement. It really can. If you start to feel discouraged about something,

there's a natural tendency to isolate. That's actually a tactic of the enemy. Isolate, divide, and conquer. I'm the only one left. I'm the only one who's really Catholic. I'm the only one who is walking the way of the fathers. Have you felt like that before? I'm the only one in my church.

I'm the only one in my city. I'm the only one in my family. We can live with an attitude that there is just so few of us. We're the only ones who have it. But yet in the scripture, God ends up showing him that there's 7,000 more, Elijah, just like you. You might feel alone, but you're not. There's 7,000 just like you. You're not alone.

So if you're feeling discouraged coming off of a big, big high, don't isolate yourself. The first one you want to be with is the Lord. Go to a holy hour. Spend time with the Lord. Listen for his voice. Go to Mass and let the Lord feed you. Let him feed you and strengthen you after the battle that you've been in. It's easier to put God in a box when you're alone.

it really is if i'm alone and discouraged it's easy to put god in a box this speaks to the advantage of having friends and being active in the body of christ when there is victory in your life go straight to the lord and his word and find your reward in him now i wanted to share this with you today because i was just reminded so often in the last two weeks coming down from mount tabor coming down from Mount Carmel, coming down from the Mount of Temptation, coming down from the Temple Mount and Jerusalem, coming down from all these high places. Just reminded me of Elijah, the fact that everyday living is not on Carmel. It's not on top of Tebor. It's not on top of the Temple Mount. those are great and we can learn from those and we can be sustained with what they give us

but we have to live our lives in everyday living and that's down from the mountain and that is where we hear the still small voice of the Lord so if you have gone from very high to very low my encouragement to you today is to spend some time in quiet with the Lord and ask him to speak to you about next steps. He will do it. He's faithful. You're in a covenant relationship with him. He's not going to leave you or forsake you.

He'll not leave you as an orphan. He will take you on to the next step in your life. I promise he will. I'd like to pray for you, my friend. I want you to know I love you. And it's funny because I thought about you all of the time in Israel. I did. I thought about you.

so many times, and I was even making little notes in my phone about some of the things I wanted to share with you in the future. I just didn't know it was going to be today, but I woke up this morning, I thought to myself, that's what I got to share. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Lord, I thank you today for the Word of God. And I thank you, Lord, for the examples in the Word of God that are written for our encouragement and our direction. I thank you also for my friend who has gone from a high place to a low place very quick, I pray, Lord, that they would seek your still small voice and that you would give them their next direction.

May the peace of Christ that passes all understanding fill their hearts, may their eyes be opened. And just like Paul on the way to Damascus had his eyes opened, may my friend who has been going, from high to low, may they also have their eyes opened as Elijah went from way in the south in Mount Sinai up towards the wilderness of Damascus. May their eyes be opened. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I love you. I'll pray for you. Please pray for me. And I look forward to seeing you next week.

Thank you.