Just before the prophet Elisha died, he put the king of Israel to a test. Elisha told Joash to take a bow and arrows. Then he put his hands on Joash's hands and asked him to shoot an arrow out the window as a prophetic sign of God's coming victory over the enemy. "You will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have destroyed them," Elisha promised (see 2 Kings 13:17b, NASB 1995). But then Elisha tested Joash further. He told him to take some of the arrows and strike the ground. Following those orders, Joash half-heartedly tapped the ground three times and stopped, and Elisha got angry.
Shortly after Elijah was carried to heaven in a fiery chariot, a group of young prophets asked his successor, Elisha, to go with them to build a new living quarters. While one of the men was cutting down a tree, the blade of his axe fell in the water and sank into the murky depths of the Jordan River. The construction project came to an abrupt stop. This was before the days of flashlights and sonar devices. They couldn't stop by Home Depot for a new axe. These guys were in trouble.
In early December I hosted a men's retreat at a camp near my home in Georgia. We hiked four miles, enjoyed great Southern food, enjoyed fellowship around an outdoor fireplace, slept in bunkhouses, worshipped and prayed together, and listened to several of the younger guys share short sermons. Because of the relaxed atmosphere, many of the guys opened up and shared that they were feeling battle-weary.
Some Christians are notorious for downplaying the Holy Spirit. Many churches lock Him in a box of tradition or just ignore Him. Others treat the third person of the Trinity as if He magically appeared in the book of Acts like a genie out of a bottle and then vanished after the early church was established. And strict cessationists deny that the Spirit works in miraculous ways today. Yet Luke, who recorded the account of Pentecost in the book of Acts, paid close attention to the work of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel that bears his name.
When I visited Egypt a few years ago, a pastor from a church in Cairo told me about an outreach he had organized in a rural community. Medical professionals from his church set up a clinic in a village and advertised that they would be providing free care. When the doctors and nurses arrived at the location, residents were already lined up for the complimentary consultations.
My life was transformed many years ago when I was filled with the Holy Spirit as a young man. I had read in the book of Acts about people who were baptized in the Spirit, and I noticed that they always spoke in tongues—whether it was the disciples in the upper room on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the Gentile believers who met in the house of Cornelius in Acts 10 or the 12 Ephesian disciples who prayed with the apostle Paul in Acts 19. It intrigued me that Paul, an intellectual guy who was trained as a rabbi, told the Corinthians: "I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all" (1 Cor. 14:18).
British pastor Charles Spurgeon, who lived from 1834 to 1892, was known as the "Prince of Preachers," but he was candid about his struggle with depression. That's one reason his written sermons are so popular today. He didn't pretend to be perfect, and his admission of human weakness made his words all the more powerful.
A good friend of mine is going through a difficult season. He lost his job several months ago, his severance has run out and many of his calls to prospective employers are ignored. And even though he has money in the bank and food on the table, anxiety about the future sometimes robs him of sleep. At times it feels like God is ignoring his calls, too. "You are in an uncomfortable wilderness season," I told my friend today. "But don't forget that God is in the wilderness."
A curious thing happened after Moses constructed the ancient tabernacle in the Sinai desert. First, Aaron made sacrifices for the sins of the people; then fire fell from heaven and consumed the offering. Then, Leviticus 9:24b (NASB 1995) says, "when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces." And God told Moses that the priests were to keep this supernatural fire burning perpetually. A similar thing happened when Solomon built a permanent temple in Jerusalem. After the construction was finished, Solomon prayed and dedicated the building to the Lord. Suddenly fire came from heaven and consumed the offerings.
Many of my friends are walking through tough circumstances right now. One man's business has failed. Another man is experiencing chronic pain, and doctors can't find a medical solution. Another is battling an addiction. One married couple I know is struggling with infertility. And several friends are feeling they have failed as parents because their adult children have walked away from God. Meanwhile even many pastors are experiencing discouragement. Some of my pastor friends have even been thinking of leaving the ministry because they feel like failures.
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