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The Destiny Process (P2)
Seven Places
Elijah eventually leaves Zarephath and goes to Samaria, place #3. What will happen there? What will God do in the soul and life of His prophet there? What does He do in our soul and life in Samaria experiences?
Place #3: Samaria, The Place Where Deep Fear is Conquered
Read 1Kings 18:1,2. Samaria was the capital of Israel, the northern kingdom. It had become the center of Jezebel's hellish operations, the institutionalization of Baal worship and the bloodbath of God's prophets. And yes, sigh, God sends Elijah here into the very living room of Satan. Why? Because here in Samaria Elijah would face and conquer fear. Deep fears. Core fears.
You see, when the Lord told Elijah to present himself to Ahab, the only thing He promised to do was send rain upon the land. That's it. He did not promise to protect him from on-the-spot execution. He did not promise to protect him from being Jezebel's next martyr. He did not promise to shield him from imprisonment or torture. He told him one thing only, "Go, present yourself to Ahab and I will send rain on the land." For Elijah to show his ruggedly cherubic face in Samaria he had to defy his own core fears, fears like the fear of suffering, imprisonment, and death. At Samaria, deep fear is faced and conquered.
Application
We, too, must pass through Samaria experiences in our destiny process. We, too, will come nose to nose with our core fears, and we, too, will have to defy and conquer them.
Some people fear rejection and persecution. Some fear dying. Some fear losing a loved one, or having to sacrifice this or that relationship. Some fear confronting an abusive person, or resolving a lingering issue that is uncomfortable or painful. Whatever the gut fears are, they are werewolfy enough to make a person reluctant or disobedient spiritually. Sooner or later, God will orchestrate our Samaria and go after our gut fears.
A Christian that successfully overcomes Samaria turns a colossal corner in their personality. They are no longer held down or held back by scary what-ifs. They are free, deep in their gut, to run towards whatever promise land they see. At Samaria, deep fear is faced and conquered.
Samaria Summary
To grow into our life purpose we must successfully endure and be liberated at Samaria, the place where deep fear is conquered.
Place #4: Carmel, The Place of Temporary Success with an Opening
Read 1Kings 18:16-40. Carmel is a towering mountain near the Mediterranean coast of Palestine, with the Acco Plain to the north and the Sharon Plain to the south. In Scripture, Carmel is adored for its beauty and fertility. Carmel literally means "fruitful, abundant, flourishing".
From Samaria God sends Elijah to Carmel, place #4. Why? Because here at Carmel Elijah would enjoy temporary fruitfulness and success, and this temporary success would open a way to his ultimate destiny.
Elijah's success at Carmel, though temporary, opened a way for his calling (reestablish public prophetic ministry in Israel). At Carmel, the nation's spiritual climate was drastically redefined; Baal was humiliated as powerless; eight hundred fifty false prophets were executed according to Mosaic law; Elijah was validated as the new chief prophet; Yahweh was glorified and rethroned publicly. These Carmel successes opened the way, or paved the way, for Elijah to fulfill his calling. They provided the necessary precursors to his ultimate goal (reestablish public prophetic ministry). At Carmel, there is temporary success with an opening to destiny.
Application
We, too, will enjoy Carmel successes after overcoming Cherith, Zarephath, and Samaria. God never belittles or forgets our faithfulness to His transformation projects in us. Thank you Lord! At the right time, he rewards our faithfulness with fruitfulness and blessing at Carmel.
Though Carmel victories are sweet, they are only temporary. Realize Carmel is simply a rest and reward season on the way to our ultimate goal. We could compare it to being ahead at halftime or being ahead at the end of the 3rd quarter. Carmel is crucial, though, because it opens or paves a way somehow for our ultimate purpose; it provides the necessary precursors.
Carmel Summary
To grow into our life purpose we must visit and pass through Carmel, the place of temporary success with an opening to our destiny.
Jezreel Not Included
A quick sidenote. After Carmel, Elijah goes to Jezreel for less than a second; he immediately fled the city after hearing Jezebel's threat. Thus, Jezreel is not included as one of the places Elijah sat in long enough to experience the work of God at that particular place. See 1Kings 18:46-19:3.
Place #5: The Desert, The Place of Discouragement & Revelatory Urgency
Read 1Kings 19:1-9. After Carmel's breakthrough, Jezebel is heated to the boiling point and swears to retaliate. Elijah runs for his life into the desert. Here he would have to experience two things: endurance in discouragement and urgency for divine guidance.
At the desert, discouragement must be endured.
When the realization sunk in that Carmel's victory was only temporary and preparatory, and that Jezebel was still operative, Elijah withered into spiritual and emotional dehydration. He sunk so low he wanted to die. Yet, he would have to persevere through it. At the desert, discouragement must be endured.
Application
We, too, will pass through discouraging deserts when we realize our Carmel blessings are not our ultimate purpose. They were only temporary victories that prepared precursors and openings for that destiny. At the desert, discouragement must be endured.
At the desert, divine guidance becomes urgent.
Strengthened by the supernatural food, Elijah ran forty days to Mount Sinai because He knew God would speak there. The desert made Elijah desperate for specific, significant guidance. For Elijah, at this point, divine guidance was no longer a luxury or a privilege or a neat spiritual experience. Knowing God would speak at Sinai was the only thing keeping his feet moving in the desert.
Scripture says often that the desert is where our appetite becomes ravenous for divine guidance. Deuteronomy 8:2,3 say God sustained Israel for forty years in the desert by every word that came from His mouth. Hosea 2:14 says God will lead His people into deserts and there speak tenderly to them. Psalm 29:8 says the voice of the Lord shakes the desert. John the Baptist willingly lived in the desert for extended periods of time to induce and perceive God's voice (Lk 1:80, 3:2). Paul, too, incubated in the Arabian desert to receive the New Covenant revelations (Gal 1:12,17). At the desert, divine guidance becomes urgent.
Application
We, too, will become desperately urgent for God's voice in the desert, more so than we have been previously. The discouragement exposes the vanity and uselessness of all our efforts apart from His guidance. In the desert we become more zealous than ever to get to Mount Sinai, a place where God speaks.
The Desert Summary
To grow into our destiny we must visit and successfully overcome the desert, the place of discouragement and revelatory urgency.
Place #6: Sinai, The Place of Landmark Divine Guidance
Read 1Kings 19:8-18. The desert drove Elijah to Mount Sinai, also called Horeb, the mountain of God. Mount Sinai is where Moses had an important revelatory experience with the Lord: the Ten Commandments and instructions for building the tabernacle. Elijah ran to this particular mountain to invoke Yahweh and hear something important from Him also.
This special mountain is also called Horeb, which, in the original language is believed to mean "glowing" or "heat" from the sun. Spiritually speaking, therefore, Sinai/Horeb is when God glows, warms, and shines on us with important guidance in response to our seeking Him. Here God would shine landmark, turning-point guidance on Elijah about his life purpose.
Elijah ran to the one thing that was and always is bright, sunny, and shining--the voice of his God. He did not come to Sinai for encouragement or comfort. His situation was far beyond needing emotional reanimation. He needed game-changing answers and solutions from the Lord. He needed Sinai-level guidance from God. Just as Moses received landmark revelation here, so also Elijah ran here for that same kind of landmark revelation. And God gave him just that. At Sinai, God shines landmark guidance.
Application
We, too, must visit Sinai in our destiny process. Here God will shine on us with decisive, turning-point, game-changing, landmark guidance about our life purpose. This is far beyond daily encouragement or love notes or self-esteem boosters from the Spirit. In fact, these landmark revelations happen only occasionally, mainly at season-changing or era-changing junctures in our life. At Sinai, God shines landmark guidance on us.
Sinai Summary
To reach our destiny we will have to visit and pass through Sinai, the place of landmark divine guidance.
Samaria, Carmel, The Desert, & Sinai
To reach our apex life purpose, we must successfully pass through Samaria, the place where deep fear is conquered. We must successfully pass through Carmel, the place of temporary success with an opening to our destiny. We must successfully pass through the desert, the place of discouragement and revelatory urgency. We must successfully pass through Sinai, the place of landmark divine guidance.
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