Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
The Chaos Inside Us {Reflections}
Have you ever wondered why spiritual clarity often follows periods of inner turmoil? In this reflective episode, we explore the powerful story of Elijah from 1 Kings—a narrative that perfectly captures the spiritual rollercoaster many of us experience.
Elijah's journey takes us from the triumphant heights of Mount Carmel, where he spectacularly defeats the prophets of Baal, to the depths of despair in the wilderness when Jezebel threatens his life. What makes this story so relevant is how it mirrors our own spiritual experiences—those moments when victory quickly dissolves into vulnerability.
The heart of this episode focuses on Elijah's encounter with God in a cave, where he witnesses powerful wind, earthquake, and fire, yet finds God in none of these dramatic displays. Instead, the divine presence appears in what scripture beautifully calls "the sound of sheer silence." Drawing on Ruth Haley Barton's insightful commentary, we explore how these elemental forces might actually represent the inner chaos that emerges when we finally sit in silence and solitude—when we stop numbing ourselves with distractions and busyness.
This understanding transforms how we approach spiritual practices and personal growth. When we create space through silence, therapy, or breaking dependencies, we often experience an internal storm of racing thoughts, buried emotions, and existential questions about identity and purpose. Rather than retreating from this discomfort, we're encouraged to persist through it, believing that authentic divine encounter awaits on the other side of chaos. If you're navigating your own spiritual wilderness or feeling overwhelmed by internal turbulence, this episode offers perspective and hope for the journey ahead.
Share this episode with someone who might need encouragement to persist through their own inner chaos. How might your perspective shift if you viewed your internal struggles not as obstacles but as necessary clearing for deeper connection with God?
Join us! Facebook | Instagram | www.clcelkriver.org
Hey, what is up? Everybody? My name is Ryan. Welcome to our Reflections Podcast. Hey, there's this great story. I love it. It's in the book of 1 Kings and it's about Elijah and him going to meet with God in this cave. I preached on it a couple of weeks ago, actually this past week, and when this podcast comes out it'll have been a couple of weeks ago. But here's a quick recap. And then there's a part at the end that I read this commentary on it that changed how I think about it a little bit and it's fascinating. I want to share it with you guys.
Speaker 1:So Elijah defeats the prophets of Baal. You can read this in 1 Kings 18. And you know, the people of Israel have been led astray by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, who worshiped Baal. They had a temple built for Baal this was uncool if you're you know, if you're an Israelite king and they did it anyway, and Jezebel was kind of the driving force of it. But either way, the Israel, the nation's going astray. And so Elijah, the prophet of God, comes and kind of hosts this challenge on Mount Carmel and he defeats the prophets of Baal. In this dramatic show, god Yahweh comes down in fire and burns up the sacrifice in the altar. Prior to this, the prophets of Baal were begging their god Baal to come and do something and he didn't do anything. And there's this great line where Elijah's talking trash to the prophets of Baal. He's like hey, where's your god? Does he not hear you? Is he in using the bathroom? Which is awesome. So smack talk is definitely a biblical thing.
Speaker 1:Anyway, after this happens, you know, elijah has this incredibly climactic moment in his life. He's achieved a great, you know, a great thing here, and but almost immediately Jezebel's angry with him and furious. Of course, she's been shown up and she threatens to kill him. And in this moment Elijah goes from the mountaintop, literally, but also metaphorically, to the Valley of Despair and he runs for his life because he knows that she's going to try to kill him. And in the meanwhile, it seems like he's like losing everything that he had sort of gained on the mountain, like his hope, his inspiration, his meaning for the future. All this seems to go away and he actually walks out into the desert places, the wild places, the wilderness, and he collapses under a tree and he asks God to take his life. It's like a dramatic shift. I mean, like a moment ago he was like the king of the world Not really, but I had this incredible moment with God.
Speaker 1:And now, because Jezebel has threatened his life, he's in despair, with depression, anxiety and loneliness in the desert and he asks God to take his life. So this angel comes, wakes him up, gives him some food. He falls back asleep. The angel comes back and gives him some more food. He falls back asleep. And I made this joke that like, hey, you know, sometimes all you need is a good meal and a good nap to get through life and get through the day. And then the angel calls him to the cave and he goes. After wandering for about 40 days, he goes to this cave to meet with God and he waits there for God and he's waiting alone in the silence and the solitude, and there's this wind, this incredibly dramatic wind, that comes through and he goes to the mouth of the cave and he thinks that God is meeting him in the wind. But God isn't in the wind, the text tells us. And then, after the wind, there's this dramatic earthquake, like this earth-shaking moment, this earthquake, and he believes it's God coming to meet with him in the earthquake and he goes and it's not. God isn't in the earthquake. And then this fire, like there's this incredible display of fire and God is not in the fire either. And then he goes back to the cave and he hears. The text tells us he hears the sound of sheer silence, which is a cool way to put it. Like how could he hear the sound of sheer silence? What does sheer silence even sound like? But he hears this, he goes to the mouth of the cave and there God waits to talk to him. But here's okay, I read.
Speaker 1:Here's the commentary, though this really great author her name is Ruth Haley Barton and she's an incredible she has this great book called Invitation to Silence and Solitude, or rather Solitude and Silence. She's awesome. And in her she says look, I believe that there was probably a literal wind and a literal earthquake and a literal fire. But she also says that this elemental chaos is actually a metaphor for the inner chaos that sort of surges within us when we sit in the presence of silence and solitude, in the presence of God, long enough that we can kind of quiet our souls and let the sediment of our lives settle. We can kind of quiet our souls and let the sediment of our lives settle. So she believes that these things that happen, like this chaos, is actually going on within us all the time. We don't always recognize it because we've too readily busied ourselves and numbed ourselves, distracted ourselves, to never notice the chaos that's already going on inside of us. That's something like a wind and an earthquake and a fire.
Speaker 1:And she says, when we have been stripped of all external distraction, we face the fact that the deepest level of chaos is inside of us, at our very core. I love that. I think it's true. I think that we are so busy and full of distractions and things that we use to numb ourselves, we don't notice it. Deep within our souls we have this internal chaos, which is why sometimes, when you experience practices like silence and solitude, or when you go to therapy or when you just have these incredible moments of being with the presence of God, you begin to have all this stuff come out of you. It's like, oh my gosh, it's like an earthquake or a fire or a wind.
Speaker 1:And why being in silence and solitude is so difficult? Because inevitably for a lot of us, when we do that, our mind starts racing or all these questions start coming up from deep within us, questions like who am I really? What do I have to offer if not productivity in my life? And am I really worth being loved as I am, not as I should be? And what do I do with all the pain and the sadness and the longing in my life, the unfulfilled longings, and what is life really all about? And all these things begin to come up and it feels like chaos. So here's what I'd encourage you Stick with it.
Speaker 1:Whatever practices you're doing that kind of cause this chaos and the you know, the monkey brain to go crazy or the physical body to go kind of haywire because you've engaged in these practices, stick with it and I think inevitably, on the other side, that's when God will be able to meet with you. I don't know how long it will take, but whatever you're doing, if you're practicing silence and solitude or going to therapy, or stopping drinking alcohol or using drugs or whatever the things are that you've normally done to numb out whatever space you've created to meet with God, and all that stuff starts to come out of you, the inner chaos just keep doing it and see what happens on the other side. I do believe on the other side, that God will meet with you and begin to speak with you. But all that stuff has to kind of come out and you have to be present with it. Don't go back to numbing out or back to your normal routines and regular things. Stick with that chaos, the wind and the fire and the earthquake, and then eventually it'll settle down and then you can see what's on the other side. I believe the other side. You'll meet with God. So there's my encouragement Stick with it and imagine that inner chaos in you coming out and let it go and see what happens next.
Speaker 1:All right, love you guys, peace. Hey, if you enjoy this show, I'd love to have you share it with some friends. And don't forget, you are always welcome to join us in person at Central in Elk River at 830, which is our liturgical gathering, or at 10 o'clock, our modern gathering, or you can check us out online at clcelkriverorg. Peace.
