Welcome to Elim!

Read: Exodus 15:22-27; Proverbs 11:25

Yesterday there was a memorial service for Richard a man who not only loved Jesus but who also loved the people that God placed in his life. Although I didn't know him well, it was obvious by the stories that were shared that these two things were true about him.

What stood out once again as it often has in such services is the sweetness of ordinary acts of kindness, and how meaningful they are when we look back at them. What most of them have in common is that we receive refreshment through them. Often at a time when we need it the most, God's sends us someone like Richard. A refresher, Proverbs 11:25. Someone whom God has gifted to do or say just the right thing that will buoy us up. If you will, God sends an Elim. May I explain?

I love the little stories tucked within the bigger overarching stories within the Bible. One of these little vignettes is found in Exodus 15:22-27. It occurred soon after the children of Israel had left Egypt. Can we even imagine the highs and lows they faced right away? The Red Sea had piled up in heaps which permitted God's people, all 1-3 million of them- to be able to cross on dry land. However, they weren't safe even though they had experienced God's mighty power. The Egyptians were pursuing them with chariots and the desire to enslave them again. However, God protected His people and piled the sea back up. Drowning their pursuers. Talk about a story with twists and turns, and there was even more! The people traveled three days without finding water. They began grumbling against Moses. Words that would be heard over and over by Israel's leader on many occasions. Oh, the joy they must have had when water was finally discovered, but how disappointed they surely were when they discovered that the water was bitter; however, God showed Moses a remedy. A log that when thrown into the water, made it sweet. Talk about a roller coaster ride! Highs and lows. Surely, God's people needed a place of refreshment, and God graciously provided it. They came to Elim!! A place of sweet provision. A place where there were 70 springs of water and 12 date palm trees.

Talk about refreshment and provision. A place to be renewed before going back into the harsh elements that they would face on their way to Sinai. Elim. It was surely a beautiful respite for God's people. A place to regain their footing.

How many Elims has God provided for each of us? How many opportunities has He given each of us to use our gifts and talents to be an Elim? Someone hand-picked by God to be refreshed or to be the one who refreshes? With that thought in mind, may I praise God, the Giver of every good gift, James 1:17 for merely one example of when God provided me with an Elim?

The office worker who helped me sign what seemed like one hundred forms. I know that there weren't nearly that many, but there were multiple places where I needed to sign my name. That meant that the woman whose name I don't know would help me sign in the right place each time. She never sighed impatiently, and when I acknowledged the extra time she had to take, she assured me that it was no problem for her to help. Her actions matched her words. Welcome to Elim where refreshing words and a lack of impatience made a difference. I can almost taste the sweetness of the dates and feel the refreshment of the springs of water. Thank You Lord for that Elim and the numerous other Elims that You have provided for me.

If we may, let's turn a bit of a corner in order to honor the One Who is the ultimate Elim. Jesus, the One Who offers real rest to we Who are weary and are weighed down with a heavy burden, Matthew 11:28-30. The One Who knows that we all are or that we were at one time, sheep without a Shepherd, Matthew 9:35-38. The One Who holds out eternal refreshment. A prepared place for us, John 14:1-3. Ready for us if we will receive the grace that only He can offer, Ephesians 2:8-9. The One Who offers springs of Living Water, John 4:10; John 7:37-39. The One Who is the Bread of Life, John 6:35.

Jesus is the Elim Whom we hold out to a world where He is so needed but often rejected or not yet known.

May He be honored as the only One Who can truly bring real rest because He bore our sin debt, having become sin for us, 2 Corinthians 5:211 so that we might become the righteousness of God.