It’s especially
challenging when your life experience leaves you feeling salty.
When it comes to being
‘salty’ in today’s world, the slang definition has been described as
‘“bitterness or anger tinged with a little
extra spice, usually a mocking or self-deprecating note of sourness.” Arianna Jeret
It often comes as a
result of being made fun of or when you fight back after being slighted. I think in today’s current culture, it is now
easier than ever to take offense and be salty especially when your view clashes
with another person. We call it ‘cancel
culture’ now and I see it more prevalent on social media after taking an
extended break. There appears to be less
and less willingness to engage with people who have a different view than
us. It has also been the cause of a
great deal of anxiety for many who are trying to navigate and learn the
delicate balance of doing life in our world filled with fear of more variants,
more outbreaks and heaven forbid, more lockdowns.
I just listened to an
amazing message by Pastor Craig Groeschel on dealing with this very issue. He spoke on the life of Elijah just after he
had experienced the most incredible moment of victory, a mountaintop experience
in I Kings 18. In I Kings 19, he comes against
the threat of Jezebel, King Ahab’s wife who hates him so much wants him dead,
the ultimate of cancelling him. So, how
does he respond? He doesn’t respond
well, in fact he hides and runs for his life.
He’s so afraid of dying at her hands that he asks God to take his
life. Craig points out four things that
created Elijah’s quick downfall and also will spell our defeat.
1.
We
run ourselves into the ground
2.
We shut
people out of our lives
3.
We focus
on the negative only
4.
We forget
God
He then took time to
remind us of what Elijah’s name means.
El - stands for God
I – stands for my
Jah – breath
My God is my breath,
My God is my source, My God is my strength!
God powerfully reminds
Elijah just how close He is.
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are
you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for
the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down
your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one
left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the
mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains
apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the
wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the
earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the
fire. And after the fire came a gentle
whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and
went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
The earth shook, the
winds howled and the fire raged and the LORD wasn’t in any of these powerful
displays.
The LORD was in the
whisper. God was not in the remarkable,
He was in the ordinary.
God whispers to us
because He’s close.
My experience + God’s presence is
enough
Craig Groeschel
My God is my
breath.
So when I feel
overwhelmed and that somehow I’m enough or the situation is too much to
overcome, may I always remember He’s closer than I think.
Augustine wrote, “put
salt on my lips that I would thirst for you”
It’s time to learn to
be a nice kind of “salty”!
