Last week, we took Step Four on our pathway to manage stress God’s Way, which was all about where we take our stress.  That was an important conversation because stress is a unique challenge in our lives.  It’s unique because we carry it, and it piles up without going away on its own, meaning it will continue to pile up until we take it somewhere.  I also wanted you to understand that stress isn’t just piling up in your life; it is also talking to you, and it has a goal.  Stress wants to keep you stressed out; it wants you to feed it, so it can grow, and it’s really good at tricking us into thinking we are relieving it, while we are actually feeding it.  Stress doesn’t go away on its own, and its goal is to keep you stressed out.  All of this means that we need to take it somewhere, and God’s Word is crystal clear about where we should take our stress.  The problem for many of us is that we aren’t listening to God’s Word; we are listening to our stress and pain, which only feeds stress and pain in our lives.  We take it to God, we cast our anxieties on Him, we pile it on His shoulders.  That leads us to our fifth step, and I’m just going to say this about step five.  It is the most overlooked and undervalued step on the pathway to managing stress in a Godly Way.  It may also be the most practical thing for us to do, making it something we can all do, which should be incredibly hopeful and exciting. However, it often is disappointing, and the last thing most people want to talk about.  Are you ready for this?  Today, we will talk about our choices.  So, to get us thinking today, let’s start with a great quote here from Edward Albert.   

"In times of life crisis, whether wildfires or smoldering stress, the first thing I do is go back to basics…am I eating right, am I getting enough sleep, am I getting some physical and mental exercise every day?" Edward Albert

You know, for so many people, we seem to separate our “real” lives from our “faith” lives, and I think because of that, we struggle to step into all that life can offer us.   We love God, and we go to church. We may even read some Scripture and pray.  We strive to be good people, yet we often struggle to see that our daily lives and choices are just as spiritual as our moments of worship on Sunday mornings or our quiet time with God.  We seem to look to Scripture for encouragement and inspiration or for things to do and not to do, while missing the fact that God’s Word is the way to live our best lives.  This is why we discuss our inner worlds, our emotional, financial, and physical health, as well as our ability to love and relate to others, our family lives, and our work lives. We do this because it all ties together to create your life experience.  It’s all profoundly spiritual.  

So, before we go any further, I want you to think about this.  Do you separate your “real” life from your “spiritual” life?  Could the practical, everyday moments of your life be more spiritual than you think?  Could your ordinary, everyday choices, which seem so small and inconsequential, be profoundly spiritual and have an impact on your life, your health, and your stress levels?  Could simple decisions, like what I decide to put into my heart and mind, what I eat, what I drink, when I go to bed at night, what I watch on TV, or listen to, how I spend my time and money each day, who I hang out with, could these simple, practical choices have a bigger impact on our lives than we think?  Could all of this be profoundly spiritual, every bit as spiritual as the Sunday Morning experience?   

I want you to think about this: we often elevate some things as spiritual while overlooking others that Scripture also points to as incredibly important in how we live our lives, which is, after all, what Christianity is all about. Living a new life, a different life because Christ is now in us and leading us, that life change is what makes our faith real, it’s what people see in us to see that Jesus is real, and it’s the very thing that leads to that best life we all want and often struggle to experience. 

You know, one of the things that has always excited me is to help people through tough times in their lives.  I enjoy those one-on-one moments, where we can help people and work through issues, and I’m thankful for them, but there was something I didn’t see coming in those moments.  I thought that in those moments, people who said they wanted to stop doing things they were currently doing would be excited to look at practical choices that could help them stop doing the behavior…but what I found was that most of the time, they want to sit and talk about the issues, tell me about their circumstances, or who’s to blame for the spot they find themselves in, but what I don’t think they are ever ready for from a Pastor (who they keep in the Spiritual category) is when I turn to the practical choices they are making in their lives, and the new choices they could make to stop doing the thing they say they don’t want to do.  I wasn’t ready for how disappointing, even offensive, that seemed to be.  I’ve sat with someone struggling with alcohol, devastated that they can’t stop drinking, and as the emotions come out, and they point to generational sin and spiritual warfare, I’m looking over their shoulder at a full liquor cabinet within arm's reach.  Is generational sin and spiritual warfare real? Absolutely.  The person’s hurts, wounds, and circumstances are brutal, one hundred percent real.  But as I move the conversation from spiritual warfare or the circumstances to getting the alcohol out of the home, and the practical triggers and choices that lead to the 20-minute drive to the state store, well, the air comes out of the room.  What happened there?  I was excited to help; they said they wanted help, but I seemed to disappoint them. Why?  Because in their mind it was spiritual, and I pointed to the practical choices of their life, but in my mind it is spiritual, which is why I pointed to the practical choices of their lives, because that is spiritual too…do you see it? 

We often overlook or devalue the role we play in our life experience, and just how powerful and impactful our choices are in our lives.  So, before we dive into the story in Scripture that I want you to see today, think about this for a moment with me.  Have I gone off the rails today?  Could your everyday, practical choices be profoundly spiritual?  Could the ordinary, practical, emotional, mental, relational, and financial areas of our lives be spiritual?  Could a choice as simple as when I decide to go to bed, or how I spend my time or money, impact my life, health, and stress?  Could what I put into my body, or into my heart, mind, and soul, impact my life, health, and stress?  Could all of my life be spiritual?  I understand how unsettling change can feel, but I believe it’s crucial to recognize the impact of our choices.  There have been some fascinating studies done on this lately.  Here’s one from a book I was recently reading by a leading Neurologist on addiction.

Seventy percent of global deaths are attributable to modifiable behavioral risk factors like smoking, physical inactivity, and diet. The leading global risks for mortality are high blood pressure (13 percent), tobacco use (9 percent), high blood sugar (6 percent), physical inactivity (6 percent), and obesity (5 percent). Via Domamine Nation, by Anna Lembke

Do you see that?  70% of global deaths today can be attributed to behaviors that we can do something about.  Our choices matter.  As I put this talk together, I just kept thinking about two lines from Solomon, one may be easier to hear than the other, but both are important.

Proverbs 2:11 Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. NLT Proverbs 19:3 People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.

Our choices matter; they are profoundly spiritual, and what is interesting is that Scripture points to this a lot. Still, we tend to overlook our role and under-spiritualize our choices and actions in life. Yet, we over-spiritualize the consequences and repercussions, blaming God for the very things we chose to do. I want you to see today, all of it is spiritual.  So, why do we do this?  Do we want to die?  Do we want to be unhealthy and miserable?  No, I don’t think that is it at all.  For many of us, we're missing the fact that our spiritual lives encompass all of our lives, including our daily choices. 

I think we come about this pretty easily in our world today.  We tend to view Spiritual things as church on Sunday, emotional worship sets, or moments in our lives where we need God to come through for us, while not seeing God in the ordinary moments and choices of our lives.  We read Scripture and can see epic moments, where God does miraculous things, and think that is Spiritual, but somehow we miss that Scripture is so careful to point out many ordinary details of life and choices, too.  But, those don’t seem as spiritual as things like we are about to see in Scripture today, like fire falling from the sky, or praying for droughts and rain to happen, and they do.  Today, we are going to learn from the life of the Prophet Elijah. This is one of the most epic stories in our Bible, and I’m hopeful that as we work through the story, you will begin to see that what may feel ordinary or simple is just as spiritual and even miraculous as the epic and exciting things that grab our attention. 

So, this story picks up in 1 Kings 18, and we don’t have time to get deep into the backstory, but I do want to set the scene.  This is a godless time for the nation of Israel.  They're led by King Ahab, who is led by his Queen Jezebel, who has introduced a godless time, worshiping Baal and Asherah instead of God, and she is hunting down and executing all of God’s prophets.  On top of this, they are in a severe famine, and it hasn’t rained in 3 years.  It’s a brutal time, with what’s left of God’s prophets hiding in caves, and God tells Elijah it’s time to talk to King Ahab.  You can tell pretty quickly that Ahab isn’t a fan here, but this sets up an epic moment for a God to move.

1 Kings 18:17 When Ahab saw him, he exclaimed, "So, is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel?” 18 "I have made no trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the Lord and have worshiped the images of Baal instead. 19 Now summon all Israel to join me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who are supported by Jezebel. NLT

So they set up a duel, on Mount Carmel, between Elijah and the prophets of Baal and Asherah, with the entire nation of Israel there to watch.  And here’s the setup.  They each get a bull, build an altar, and whoever’s God lights the bull on fire will be proclaimed the true God of Israel. Both agree, and off we go, with the prophets of Baal and Asherah going first. They pray and cut themselves, all day long, with Elijah literally talking trash on them as they go, at one point, telling them that maybe Baal is in the bathroom and just can’t get to the task right now.  And after they are done making a spectacle of themselves with nothing taking place, it’s Elijah’s turn.  He sets up the altar with 12 stones, one for each of the tribes of Israel, and then digs a trench around it. He has the bull, the altar, and the trench saturated with water.  Then he prays this prayer…

1 Kings 18:36 "O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." NIV

And fire falls from the sky, burning up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the soil, and even the water!  Everyone now knows who God is, and the nation of Israel turns back to God.  So, before we keep going, try to feel the intensity of this.  Think of the stress and emotions of this moment for Elijah, standing up to Ahab, to 850 prophets, and doing it in front of the entire country…and what an amazing moment.  Fire falls from the sky, now that is spiritual! What a victory for Elijah! He has the prophets of Baal and Asherah executed, and he isn’t done.  He tells Ahab it’s going to rain, which it hadn’t in three years, and it does!  Now that is Spiritual! And he isn’t done; God so empowers him in this moment that he outruns Ahab's horse and chariot all the way back to Jezreel!  Now that is spiritual.  God is on the move!   But if you can, try to think about the intensity, the emotions, the stress of the moment, and the elation and excitement of this miraculous victory that God has done through Elijah here.  Elijah has called down fire from the sky, and it has come down!  He prayed that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t; then he prayed that it would rain, and it did!  He has outrun a horse all the way to a city, but it’s what happens next that I really want you to see. Things change quickly.

1 Kings 19:1 When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. 2 So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: "May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them." 3 Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. 4 Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, Lord," he said. "Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died." NLT

How does this happen?  How does Elijah go from the greatest victory ever seen to running for his life and wanting to die?  Well, I think we can learn a lot from this moment.  We can learn from Elijah’s choices and also from the way God helps him through this.  As we do this, I want you to see God in these little things that take place.  And I would argue that they are just as spiritual as the fire falling from the sky on Mount Carmel.

So, remember what we are doing today: we are talking about our choices and the impact they have on our ability or inability to manage our stress God’s way. Let’s start by looking at what has just taken place.  First, that was a massive moment for Elijah; he is out on his own, standing up to evil. Do you think he may be a little emotionally spent?  He has also built an altar and runs faster than a horse over a long distance. Do you think he may be physically spent?  And now, the moment is over; he is tired, empty, and needs to recover from this amazing victory. And that is when he is threatened with being killed by Jezebel, and what does Elijah do?  Well, he freaks out.  He runs for his life.  He goes from the ultimate warrior, calling fire from heaven, to afraid and wanting to die.  Let’s look at some of Elijah’s choices here when he finds out that Jezebel wants to kill him.  Remember last week, we learned that our stress talks to us, and it has a goal: to keep us stressed out by doing what it wants. Our job is not to listen to it!  Well, I see three mistakes Elijah makes here as he listens to it.

The first mistake is that he chooses to escape.  In this moment, he listened to his stress and fear and ran away.  We do this too; we want to escape from our pain…we may not run to a broom tree, but we do this in countless ways. He just didn’t have Netflix or Vrbo to get away like we do.

The second mistake is that he chooses to isolate.  If you notice, Scripture makes sure to tell us he leaves his servant in Beersheba and keeps going, all alone.  Our stress and pain want to grow and will always tell us to escape and isolate, but we need people in our lives!

The third mistake is that he chooses to stagnate.  He plops down under a tree, feeling like he wants to die. We need rest in life, yes, but our idle hands will always get us into trouble.  Stress wants us to escape, isolate, and stagnate…we think it is relieving pain, but it’s only feeding it.  Now, God steps in and lovingly helps our beaten-down hero.  Check this out.

1 Kings 19:5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, "Get up and eat!" 6 He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, "Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you." 8 So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. 9 There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. The LORD Speaks to Elijah But the Lord said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" NLT

So God sends an angel to Elijah, and what incredibly spiritual task does he start with?  What does he have him do?  Eat, drink, and rest.   God does this twice.  Wait, why does the Bible talk about such things? They seem so practical.  Well, there is more.  After he is nourished and rested, God has him get up and start moving again.  It’s time for them to spend some time together.  But I want you to really focus on the question God asks Him?  He asks Him this twice!  “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  God knows all things, so why does He ask him this question?  It’s another very practical way back from stress and anxiety in his life.  God wants him to think.

So, God is leading Elijah to some very practical choices.  Eat. Drink. Rest. Get Up. Start Moving.  Think.  Interesting, isn’t it?  They aren’t epic miraculous signs of wonder; they are very practical, BUT God is in them, so they are also very spiritual.  All of these things are countering stress and fear in his life, which tells him to ignore the wise and healthy choices he should be making.  Then, after our stressed-out hero rants and raves about why he is in this difficult spot, explaining how awful his circumstances are, who is to blame for his issues, and making sure God knows he is all alone in life, we get to see God on the move again…

1 Kings 19:11 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. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" NIV

All those epic signs and wonders, but God wasn’t in any of them. Then, the whisper comes, and Elijah goes out to talk to God. We tend to think God would be in the earthquake, the mighty wind, or fire, but he wasn’t; God was in the whisper, and then God asks Elijah the same question again, and Elijah once again replies, driven by his stress, pain, and fears.

1 Kings 19:14 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken 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." 15 The Lord said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. NIV

God tells him that escape isn’t the way through. He needs to go back the way he came, right back to the stressful stuff and face it; escapism isn’t the way through, even if stress tells us that it is.  He also reminds Elijah that he is not alone, and that while stress tells him he is alone and to stay alone, God reminds him that this isn’t true and tells Elijah that he needs to reach out to find the right people and assemble a team.  Isolation isn’t the answer, even though stress says that it is.

God helps restore Elijah through a series of incredibly practical things: Eat. Drink. Sleep. Get Up and Keep Moving.  Think.  Face Your Fears. Reach Out To People.

Why would I walk you through this epic story today in a talk about choices?  Well, it’s because we tend to separate the spiritual from the ordinary, practical choices of our lives, and God is in all of it.  God was in the fire falling from the sky, and he was in the food and rest, too.  So often we overlook the practical choices we can make to find health and our best lives.  God is in all of it, and one isn’t more spiritual than the other.  So often, we find ourselves in challenging spots wanting God’s help.  We focus on the mountain top experiences, the earthquakes, the fire, the wind, the epic wins and circumstances of our lives while completely overlooking the practical ways God is showing up in our lives…the whispers, the provision, the direction through His Word.  Yeah, we all would love to call down fire from the sky, or walk on water, but how beautiful it is that God is with us in the simple, ordinary moments of our lives. It’s all spiritual because it’s all His.

I want to close with that question from the beginning of the talk today, and I want to really think this all through.   Do you separate your “real” life from your “spiritual” life?  Could the practical, everyday moments of your life be more spiritual than you think?  Could your ordinary, everyday choices, which seem so small and inconsequential, be profoundly spiritual and have an impact on your life, your health, and your stress?  Could simple choices, like what we decide to put into our heart, mind, and soul, what I eat, what I drink, when I go to bed at night, what I watch on TV, or listen to, how I spend my time and money each day, who I hang out with in your day-to-day, could these simple, practical choices have a bigger impact on our lives than we think?  Could this all be profoundly spiritual, every bit as spiritual as the Sunday Morning experience?    

If you are struggling with stress today, it’s important to think about your choices. That may disappoint you, or even offend you.  If it does, I just want to encourage you today to see something that can be a real gift in your life.  God is in all of it.  Life may actually be simpler and more practical than you think.  We can’t separate our choices and the ordinary moments from our lives from other moments that we would call God moments or spiritual; they are all His, and they all tie together and form our life experience.  In our story today, we can see God in the fire falling from the sky; it is so epic…but God is also in the food, the rest, the drink, and the whisper. 

So please think about this as we close. Are your current choices helping alleviate stress or adding to it?  Do I need rest?  How do I nourish my body? What do I put in it?  Am I slowing down and thinking intentionally?  Do I need time with God?  Do I need a friend, or do I avoid community?  Have I allowed stress to tell me what to do, or am I listening to God?  Could God be in all aspects of my life?  How are my choices impacting my life experience?

This is the most overlooked step on our pathway to managing stress in a godly way. Our choices matter and have a major impact on our life experience and our stress levels.  If that makes you uncomfortable, or offends you, or disappoints you, I think it means you are looking at it all wrong. It’s time to see how God moves in epic and profoundly spiritual ways through these things that seem so ordinary…and practical…that is exciting and hopeful because it means we have an opportunity to walk with the God of the Universe in every little detail of our life regardless of how small it may feel to shape and form our life experience and if you really think about that, it’s more amazing than fire falling from the sky.