Life is like a roller coaster. Roller coasters have ups and downs and all sorts of banks and turns. Anyone riding one will literally experience their world turning upside down. Life can sometimes feel like that as well. In my family I, Boris, am the only one who loves roller coasters. I was delighted when I discovered that my wife Cheyenne also loves roller coasters. Although we both share the love of this type of mechanical ride, there is one type of ride I am not fond of. In fact, I am terrified of them. Cheyenne, on the other hand, loves them. You may ask, if he loves roller coasters, what kind of ride is it that he is afraid of? The answer is the intimidating and nerve-racking Ferris wheel.
There are many reasons why I dislike Ferris wheels. This past summer I was reminded of all of them during the Berrien County youth fair. Ferris wheels, unless they are built at an amusement park, are never permanent. They get built and taken apart constantly. As a result, I have never had much confidence in their structural integrity, though I must admit I have never seen one fail and I pray I never do. On this occasion, Cheyenne wanted to go on the Ferris wheel. Being a loving husband, I agreed despite my fear. The loading platform was shaking along with my knees right before we boarded. The door to the basket did not have what I would qualify as secured locks on the door. Upon sitting there, I held on to the center post and the side of the basket with all my might, and my fear and nerves started to take control of my actions. Through it all, Cheyenne was calm and did nothing but smile the entire time. She also tried to assure me that we would be safe on this ride.
As the wheel turned, I saw how the horizon disappeared beneath my feet. The wind started to sway our basket lightly. Every time the wheel went around, there was the sound of hundreds of unidentified items rolling down the inside of the wheel itself. All these sounds and experiences did nothing more than aggravate my fear. Seeing my distress, Cheyenne lovingly held my hand to help me calm down. It wasn’t until I focused on her and not on all the noise that I was able to relax and enjoy my time on that Ferris wheel.
Many people today have a similar experience as mine when it comes to daily life as opposed to being on a Ferris wheel. Noise comes from all around and commands our attention. Our fear in life is aggravated by the noise of politics, global health crisis, economics, and the many challenges that we face in our places of work and with our families. The sound of it all can be so deafening that it renders us unable to see the Creator and Saviour of the world holding our hands, sustaining us in our times of difficulty and need.
This is true of all of those who have experienced the power of the Lord in their lives, such as Elijah. God called His servant in difficult times, according to the biblical record. Ahab was the king of Israel and was not fond of the prophets of Yahweh. Seeing the apostasy of the kingdom drove Elijah to pray that there would be no rain for three and a half years. God sealed the heavens and the drought on the land was severe.
Under those conditions, Elijah issued the challenge against the prophets of Baal that would ultimately be won by Yahweh. On the night of that victory, one would think that Elijah would feel fearless and invincible. God had displayed His power with such might that there was no doubt that He was the one true God.
It would be fair to say that Elijah had a mountain-top experience, however he was still susceptible to fear. Upon learning about the deaths of Baal’s prophets, Jezebel sought to kill Elijah (1 Kgs 19:2). This filled him with fear— so much so that he ran away from Jezebel. His fear and despair drove him to even ask God to take his life (19:4). Why would he ask God to take his life? When fear takes control of our mind and actions, it can drive us to do things that may not make sense. God did not grant Elijah his wish to die. I am thankful that God does not always give us what we pray for. Sometimes we get discouraged because our lives on earth are hard and difficult. We may pray for healing, but God is silent. We may pray for a wayward child to return to the Lord, but nothing happens. We may ask God to provide for us, but He doesn’t. We look to God for answers, but He comes to us in ways we do not expect—just like He came to Elijah in the still small voice.
God did not grant Elijah’s wish to die. Instead, He gave him food and time to rest (19:5–6). God did not come to Elijah with a great display of power, such as making Jezebel’s death threat disappear. When God appeared to Elijah it was not in thunder and lightning or in spectacular manifestations of nature. When the wind destroyed the boulders, the earthquake shook the firmament, and the fire devoured the land with its heat, God was not in them (19:11–12). When life is loud with noise, the solution is not a louder sound. Rather, the solution is changing our focus from our situation to seeing the hand of God still holding on to us.
Elijah was surrounded by many sounds, a death threat, hunger, loneliness, the fire, the wind and the earthquake. All of these were indeed loud, but none contained what Elijah needed. He found strength and peace in the gentle whisper that followed the fire. When life is at its loudest with the destructive noise of fear, we must remember that through it all Jesus has been with us all the time. God holds our hand. We are not alone. He is with us. He smiles and assures us that we will be safe on this Ferris wheel of a life. His assurance will come even from places we have never imagined.
One Sabbath I was distraught and deeply discouraged with the pressures that come with ministry. After my sermon, a little girl came to me and from her bag she pulled a page from a coloring book. It was signed with her name, and she said, “Pastor, thank you for all you do. I appreciate you a lot and I made this for you! Have a happy Sabbath.” What that little girl did, lifted my spirit with words of love and encouragement. This is what God did to Elijah, and this is what He does to us.
Through all the noise God gave me a still small voice that reminded me He was with me. On that terrifying Ferris wheel Cheyenne held my hand to remind me that I was not alone. As she held my hand I changed my focus from the noise of the Ferris wheel and the wind. My eyes were fixed upon her and I found calm. Several revolutions of the wheel went by but now the noise, though still present, no longer had control over my mind. That is what Jesus does for us. Stretch out your hand and hold on to His.
Joseph Kidder, DMin, is professor of Christian ministry and discipleship at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary in Berrien Springs, MI, USA.
Boris Reyes, MDiv, SDA Theological Seminary, Berrien Springs, MI, USA.
