Glorious Gentleness

**Editor’s note: Today’s reading discusses suicide*** If you ever want to see God’s power and glory right by His compassion and gentleness, read 1 Kings 17-19. Elijah experienced the full gamut of God’s character in these chapters. Elijah was a prophet (someone who spoke to God’s people on His behalf) in Israel at a time when Israel was praising the false god, Baal. In chapter 18, Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to an epic showdown on a mountaintop to prove who was the true god—Baal or the Lord. So 450 prophets of Baal built an altar, put a bull on it as an offering, and asked Baal to send down fire to burn up the offering. They danced, begged, and yelled for hours, but nothing happened. Then, Elijah built an altar to the Lord, put a bull on it, drenched it with water, and prayed a simple prayer. God immediately poured out fire from heaven, consuming not just the bull but also the wet wood and stone of the altar, definitively proving that the Lord, and He alone, is God. Then God sent down rain, ending a three-year drought Elijah had prophesied. The queen, who worshipped Baal, threatened to kill Elijah. He ran for his life. Exhausted and terrified, he prayed, but not for God to save him. He prayed for God to end his life (19:4). Elijah, who had just seen God’s amazing power at work in one of the most epic good vs. evil showdowns in history, felt suicidal. He felt alone, hopeless, and empty (19:4, 10). And here we see God’s tenderhearted compassion and gentleness. He gave Elijah food, water, and rest (19:5-6). God gave Elijah His very own presence, showing Elijah that, while He can and does reveal Himself in earth-shattering miracles, His presence is also a gentle whisper (19:11-12). When Elijah felt utterly alone, God showed him there were others who love God and follow Him (19:18), and He provided Elijah with a successor named Elisha (19:16). When Elijah felt suicidal, God did not berate him or tell him to pull himself up by his bootstraps and move on. Instead, He lovingly provided for Elijah’s needs,