Ghost StoriesSample

Imagine a windy day. Like a really windy day. The type of windy day where you can’t hear anything but the roar of the air blowing past your ears. Now imagine an earthquake, not just a small 2.5 earthquake but an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1. That is a lot of damage. Lastly, think of a fire. You’re sitting at a fire pit with your friends and everytime you throw a piece of wood or grass or trash into the fire, what does the fire do? Destroy and consume whatever is placed in it. What do all these things have in common? They’re loud and disruptive but they capture your attention, right?

Elijah was a prophet who God was using to speak to the Israelites. Elijah seemed to be the only person left who was truly obeying God and his life was threatened so he ran away to hide in a cave…guess where. The mountains. In this age of 1 Kings, the world was not nearly as developed as it is now. If you wanted to run away and not be found, the mountains were the best option because they were dangerous to travel through due to low temperatures and the terrain of the land. So Elijah ran away and cried out to the Lord. Elijah was scared, tired, and done with life. To the point of telling the Lord it would be better if He killed Elijah to put him out of his misery. The Lord said, take a nap and here’s some food.. I think we all could use those two things often. However, this truly shows that God cares for our needs. After God had taken care of Elijah, He knew that now was the time to talk to him. As we read, God tells Elijah to stand in His presence on the mountain and then all these crazy things started happening. Cliffs started falling because of the violent wind, an earthquake took place, and then a fire. Elijah still could not hear the Lord. After all this craziness died down, then came a voice. A whisper. The voice of the Lord. God showed Elijah His presence in a still and small way. Elijah was depressed and discouraged, God knew that Elijah needed a personal encounter so that is what He gave him.

Moses was orphaned and taken in by Pharaoh's wife to save his life. He ran away years after being born for killing an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew, who was enslaved due to Pharaoh's rule. Moses knew this Hebrew was one of his people so he killed the Egyptian, a day later two Hebrews let him know that they knew what he had done. Pharaoh found out what had happened, tried to kill Moses and Moses fled into the wilderness for many years, up until the Pharaoh king who tried to kill him had died. This is when God stepped in to intervene. Moses was shepherding a flock and led the sheep to a desert mountain. Then an angel appeared to Moses in the form of a flame within a bush. Now, if there’s a flame within a bush you would think that the bush is on fire and being engulfed and destroyed by the fire, right? This bush was not melting or being destroyed or even being scorched by this flame so Moses walked closer to the bush to see what was going on. This burning bush was just a ploy that God used to capture Moses’s attention because God had something He needed to tell Moses. The story of the burning bush occurred on a mountain with Moses, who ran away from sin and God captured his attention to call Moses to something despite what he had done. God had a plan for Moses and redeemed him because Moses was obedient.

If you think about it, experiencing violent wind, an earthquake, a fire, and a burning bush that wasn’t being “burned” is all a little spooky, or terrifying. See! These stories are a little scary, just not in the way you expected. The past two days, we studied two mountaintop experiences from the Old Testament. Both involved two guys who were running away to hide and to not be found but God showed them that He had been there all along. They were known and loved by Him and God still wanted to use them to advance His kingdom and to save His people. What is God using to capture your attention in your life? Where is the “mountain” that God is calling you to be in His presence? For the rest of this week we will be studying some mountain top stories in the New Testament. God wants to show you that He is near, be still in His presence today so that you can encounter Him.