And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 1 Kings 19:9).
Dear God and Heavenly Father, here we are again in Your Presence, seeking Your guidance. We need You! We are helpless without You. We need a new vision of our place in this world. Only You can provide it. So speak Lord, for we are listening in the name of Your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Do you know why you are where you are, in your journey here on earth? In your relationships? In your spiritual experience? Have you ever asked yourself these question? I believe it could be a very enlightening experience, especially if you find yourself standing still; doing nothing. The answer to these questions could provide you with enough energy to start you moving again.
Life is dynamic. In certain areas of life standing still could cause your demise. If nothing is happening in a relationship you could wake up one day to find that that relationship no longer exists. If the action goes out of your spiritual experience (no prayer, no Bible study, no spending quality time with the Lord) you could wake up to the sad realization that your faith has withered and died.
Something similar could have happened to God’s prophet if God had not intervened! Elijah had just had one of those extraordinary “mountain top” experiences, where, under normal circumstances, you come down walking on air. Instead, the man of God hit the ground running, because of a threat from a ruthless queen who took an oath that within twenty-four hours, he would be dead!
Perhaps, if when God’s servant received the threat from Jezebel he had gone right back to the place where he had had such a resounding victory, and prayed with the same ardor that he had prayed just hours before, the story may have been told differently. Instead, fear overtook him, blinded him to what God had just done, and he ran for his life!
This is by no means an attempt to undermine the faith of this man of God. I pray that the day will come when I will have such a faith that will cause fire to quench water (No it is not a twist of the tongue). Read about it in 1 Kings 18:38)!
The questions to e answered are: How many people are at a place in their lives when, all things considered, they should really be somewhere else? How many are standing still when they should be moving ahead full steam focusing on what they have been called to do? How many are paralyzed by fear when help is within their reach?
Standing still, especially after a great victory can be dangerous! Elijah went into a cave. A place of isolation. Doing nothing was not the solution to his problem. Though obviously he concluded that it was. Listen to his lament:
“And he said, ‘ “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life” ‘ ” (1 Kings 19:10, 14). It is almost as if Elijah was saying, “See, I have been busy working for God; doing the best I can, standing alone in the trenches! And look what happened. My life is now in jeopardy!
Have you been busy for the Lord lately? Let me warn you, the Adversary of our souls is not happy about it! But do not let fear paralyze you, or cause you to flee, or become depressed. God is not through using you for His glory. He still has work for you to do. So go back to the top of the mountain where you gained your victory and draw strength from being in God’s Presence! Listen for His voice telling you to “arise and eat.” Let Him use whatever method He chooses to feed you: His Word, godly friends, His Holy Spirit. Or all of the above.
When you are strong enough (for Elijah it took forty days), He will show you what you need to see, and let you hear what you need to hear. Then He will send you to finish the work He asked you to do for Him. Your work is not finished until God says it is.
So do not listen to the threats, or loud noises that the enemy uses to disarm the children of God. Just “Be still and know that [He is] God”. And forever will be!
NOTE: Corrections have been made to this devotional.