"It’s Lonely at the Top" - I Kings 19:4-15

It is normally about this time of year that I go sailing on the Chesapeake. For the last three years I have chartered a boat and taken a group of men with me. Its something I really enjoy but it also involves tremendous responsibility. Being the "captain" on a charter is very demanding. Not only are you responsible for a boat that belongs to someone else, you are also responsible for your crew. The decisions you make, such as determining your ports of call, affect the quality of the experience. You also have to depend on the weather and that is something you simply cannot control.

Rarely do members of my crew complain, but it doesn’t change the fact that I feel responsible for everything that happens during the week.

Here we find Elijah feeling overwhelmed. He is the prophetic leader of the people of faith but things are not going well. He is feeling unworthy, and very alone. So much so that at one point, he says to God, "take away my life."

To cope with his feelings of inadequacy, Elijah finds his way to a cave. Perhaps he believes that there he can hide from God. Or perhaps he is afraid. God tries to get him to come out of hiding, but neither wind, nor earthquake or even fire can shake him loose. He is despondent, unable to continue on.

Finally, God succeeds in bringing him around. Amazingly he gets Elijah’s attention with silence. God deals with Elijah’s feelings of loneliness by removing all the noise in his life and providing an opportunity for Elijah to listen. The inability to hear is man’s greatest weakness.

I confess that I don’t always hear what my wife tells me. Why? Because I am preoccupied with other things. My attention is divided. Like most men I live in a world of many responsibilities. They may be unrealistic or in my imagination, but for me they are real.

What should you do about the man in your life who doesn’t listen? First, recognize that he is preoccupied with many responsibilities. Secondly, unlike women, men do not think in multiple tracks. They can only focus on a single problem at a time. Therefore, do not bombard them with multiple problems at the same time. Third, talk to them only when they are rested. The probability of them listening to you will be enhanced greately.

Once in a great while I take a nap. Last Sunday afternoon I was really tired, so about 4pm I took a one-hour nap. It really helped. I didn’t realize that I was so exhausted. Most of the men I know are not willing to admit to themselves and especially others that they are worn out and in need of some rest. We men seem to have a habit of pushing ourselves beyond reasonable limits. Perhaps we are in denial about our need for rest.

Elijah needed rest. After expressing his feelings of unworthiness, "he laid down under the broom tree and fell asleep." Totally exhausted and overwhelmed with his role as spiritual leader, Elijah took a well deserved nap.

Elijah, however was not alone. An angel touched him and told him to get something to eat. Besides rest, Elijah needed nourishment. Placed before him was a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water." In the midst of his feelings of unworthiness and fatigue, God provided him with food to continue his journey.

A good, hot meal and nap will give a man all the strength he needs. But, the story doesn’t end there. Elijah still needed one additional resource in order for God to get his attention. That resource was absolute silence. The only way he could listen to God was to be free of all distractions and outside forces.

Charles Swindoll tells the story about a conversation with his daughter, Colleen. He was overwhelmed with many commitments. In the process he found himself snapping at his wife, rushing through meals and irritated at every little interruption. One evening after supper Colleen desperately wanted to tell him something important that happened to her at school that day. She hurriedly began, " Daddy, I wanna tell you something and I’ll tell you really fast." Realizing her frustration, he answered, " Honey, you can tell me…and you don’t have to tell me really fast. Say it slowly." Then came the response that Swindoll will never forget. His daughter responded by saying, "Then listen slowly." (from Chicken Soup for the Father’s Soul)

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio