Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
And the word of the Lord came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
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."
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.
After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 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?"
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."
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. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him."
1 Kings 19:9b-18
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Are you presently feeling or have you ever felt like life has you on the run? And in that pursuit, you’re not sure if you can keep running from the challenges that life brings whether they be financial, emotional, physical or psychological?
If so, then you can relate to Elijah in today’s scripture. You’ll recall at the beginning of Chapter 19 that Jezebel, already with a nasty reputation for killing prophets, was hot on Elijah’s trail…so much so that scripture told us he ran for his life. His running took him to a broom tree in the desert where Elijah stopped and prayed the Lord might kill him instead of him falling victim to Jezebel. And as Elijah slept, you’ll recall that the Lord woke him and brought him food and drink twice before sending him off for forty days and night, initially strengthened to carry on despite Jezebel’s pursuit but soon weary and beginning to lose hope again.
For as Elijah awakened from his sleep in the cave, we read where the Lord asks him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?" To which Elijah explained his situation, stating that he had been “very zealous for the Lord” but the Israelites rejected His covenant and broke down His altars while putting the Lord’s prophets “to death with the sword” leaving only Elijah surviving. And now his life was in peril.
We have seen earlier in this chapter and throughout scripture where God is always there for His people when they need Him most in accordance with His perfect will and way. As we will see, this time becomes no different…and the message the Lord means to share with us is that we need to continue to trust in Him, no matter how tough times might become.
For as Elijah was feeling forlorn and downcast, the Lord tells him to, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." What an awesome proclamation this must have been! Can you imagine yourself in the place of Elijah? That in your biggest time of need the Lord tells you to go outside and watch because He was about to pass by? I don’t know about you but I would move pretty fast to be where the Lord told me to go. And Elijah did just that.
So how did the Lord appear to Elijah? In what way do you think Elijah expected to see Him? In what way would you expect to see Him?
Well, we first see where “a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord”. Now that might be a sign of the Lord’s presence…one that would make total sense because we know we serve a God who can move mountains. But guess what? Scripture tells us that “the Lord was not in the wind”.
Next, we read where an earthquake followed the wind. Surely, that was the sign that the Lord was there. Who else could make the earth tremble? But “the Lord was not in the earthquake”.
What do you think Elijah was thinking at this point? A strong wind tore the mountains apart and shattered rocks and an earthquake shook the earth but neither act revealed the Lord. How much more power would be displayed? Elijah had to think there was something pretty phenomenal in store. Wouldn’t you?
So what happened after the earthquake?
Scripture tells us that fire was next. We don’t know how vast and damaging the fire was but it had to be impressive because the Lord doesn’t do anything that isn’t. So surely the Lord was in the fire.
He wasn’t.
OK…so no Lord in the strong wind. No Lord in the earthquake. And no Lord in the fire.
So how did the Lord come? In the way that Elijah…and us as well…would have least expected it. For after the fire came a quiet whisper…the Lord’s whisper…and when Elijah heard it, it led him to pull his cloak “over his face” as he “went out and stood at the mouth of the cave”. There, the Lord brought him specific instruction to anoint two kings, Hazael over Aram and Jehu over Israel. Elijah was also told to anoint Elisha as his successor…as the next great prophet of Israel. The kings and Elisha would put the people of Israel to the sword who broke the Lord’s covenant commands but the Lord chose to spare “seven thousand in Israel” because they all had “not bowed down to Baal” nor kissed him with their mouths. Their obedience would be what saved them.
So what is the take away from this scripture for us? What is the Lord trying to teach us?
He trying to teach us that He will and can come in whatever way He wishes…and we need to be ready to receive Him in any way He chooses to come in the midst of our circumstances. For the Lord doesn’t always come with great fanfare.
Yes…He can come in strong destructive winds. Yes…He can come in the earth-shaking power of an earthquake. And yes, He can be found in the destructive nature of fire.
But we must also keep in mind that He can be found in a gentle whisper...especially spoken for us to help us in the midst of our circumstances.
The question is…will we be listening when He does?
In Christ,
Mark
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