It’s a learned virtue, inspired by few and modeled by even less, particularly among people who are what we’ve come to grasp as Type A personalities.

Soothsayers are scandalous for exhibiting this personality, which makes Elijah more extraordinary. Without hedging in heroism, he was as soft clay in his Master’s hands. The place of beginning, the place of the prayer, the place of battle, the place of death. That is home base—the very start of our Christian experience when we are born anew. For many of us, that place of beginning, that home base, is far during the past. Do you remember when you took your first few baby steps? You skidded a little bit and people who loved and coached you helped steady you on your feet. And you learned the fundamentals of life : how it is possible to get into the Word ; the easiest way to pray ; the easy way to have some time with Our Lord God ; the best way to share your religion. Remember? You first started to learn what it was to sacrifice, to surrender things dear and dear to you.

For some it was a miscarriage or the loss of a child. For some it was actually the loss of a man or other half. Maybe for you it was actually the loss of a job, your own business, or a lifetime dream never to be realized. Coming all alone to your own Bethel, you learned to offer prayers. God did a genuine work in your life as He carried you from that place of communion to the subsequent stage He planned for you. And because you’d learned the value of prayer, you built your altar, and you learned even more at His feet.

Self-denial is tough to learn, but it is worth the effort.