God's Directions!

In today’s first reading, 1 Kings 17: 1-6, the Lord tells Elijah to “go hide in the Wadi  Cherith, east of the Jordan. You shall drink of the stream, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there.” Elijah does just as  the Lord’s commanded.  “He went and remained by the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the stream, safe from his pursuers who were seeking to harm him.

Elijah certainly had the freedom to go his own way and not seek shelter in Wadi Cherith and believe that ravens would feed him there.  That sounded, I suspect, pretty outlandish.  God is that way, though. Some of the things the Spirit  directs us to do may sound outlandish, irrational, in fact. “Do what?” we may ask.  Especially when it comes to a vocation to priesthood or religious life and, maybe in the choice of a spouse or “the command” to begin serious dating or, even, to choose to remain single.  Or it may be in choosing a major or a minor in college or which college to attend. Or, again, it may be in choosing a job offer. “What,” our friends may ask, “are you thinking? That’s not a good fit for you, “ and on and on. Yet, in our heart of hearts, we go the “Wadi Cherith” of our lives, to the place the Spirit is directing us to go, even though our family or friends do not understand our choice.

What we do know in faith is that the Lord is directing us!  When we feel the Spirit’s gentle nudge, nothing else matters.  And many times we are as surprised, as I believe Elijah was, “ravens” bring us “bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening.”  And we “drink from the stream” of grace that pours into our believing, trusting hearts.