Courage

This bible journal page was completed when I was on retreat in 2023. I had likened something of my experience to being in a cave, and my spiritual guide suggested reflecting on this passage of scripture. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah flees for his life, and finds safety and shelter in a cave. God tells him to go outside the cave and wait for the Lord. First a wind comes, but God is not in the wind. Then an earthquake, and then a fire but God is not in either of those. Lastly comes the sound of a low whisper, and as it says in the verse I have underlined “And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.”

On the top half of the page I’ve drawn a cave (with a rather small opening!) and Elijah wrapped in a red cloak. I’ve added the word ‘courage’ to the left of the passage to summarise something of what I had taken from reading the passage. Elijah would have needed courage to leave the cave, and perhaps I did too at that time. Sometimes when life is difficult, we withdraw and hide away for a time, but then it takes courage to step out once again.