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Yes, I am still in Genesis.

One of the topics of discussion is nestled in the genealogies of chapter 5. You know the chapters of who begot who. Whose your daddy?

In verse 4, “Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” Enoch never experienced death. He pleased God and so God took him with Him. There is another person in the Bible that God took and never experienced death, Elijah. “As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.”(2 Kings 2:11, 12) Amazingly these men had great faith and had a wonderful relationship with God and within Elijah’s life we can learn a few things as Christ followers.

The children of Israel were disobeying God and turning from Him. They were worshipping the god Baal. Israel was turning from safety and security that comes from knowing God to being a lost nation without God. So Elijah prayed that it would not rain for three years (1 Kings: 17, 18). You can imagine with no rain for that length of time the land became parched, food was sparse and the outcome did not look good.

However, throughout the drought God took care of Elijah. When it came time for the rain to return, Elijah was hiding out in a cave and God told him to come out of the cave and go on the mountaintop. “The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” (1 Kings 19:11-13)

If you notice Elijah, God continued to take care of him. Before he left the cave a powerful wind came and God was not in the wind. Then the earth quaked, but God was not in the earthquake, and then a fire came and God was not in it. However, God was there and God took care of Elijah and he recognized God’s gentle whisper. Once he heard God’s voice he went out and stood in the presence of God on the mountain.

As Christ followers, we experience many things in life and some can be tragic, but God is always there taking care of us. The word tells us that Christ followers know God’s voice. Elijah certainly knew God’s voice. Otherwise, he could have been in great danger.

God desires for us to spend time with Him so that we too will be certain of whose voice we are listening too. Safety and security come when we know God’s voice and we follow it.

Yvette Perrin is a columnist for The Charlotte Gazette. She can be reached at theword2yvette@gmail.com.