Good Morning Friends,
C. S. Lewis once said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” And the enlightenment of Lewis relates well to today’s scripture and Elijah coming out of the cave on the very mountain where Moses received the Ten Commandments. The thought of Plato’s cave parable comes to mind as well for there is a reveal and reward in seeing the light. There is the hope of the truth being revealed as God leads us and guides us to give up the illusions of our addictions and the shadows that mascarade for reality and embrace the fullness of the life God intended. It boils down to answering the question God asks of Elijah as he faces despair… a question you might ask a person living in darkness and the shadows of life. So, What Are You Doing Here?
Scripture: And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
1 Kings 19: 1–16 (KJV)
Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
1 Kings 18:37 (KJV)
I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place.
Psalm 118:5 (KJV)
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
Isaiah 45: 22 (KJV)
May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
Ephesians 3:18 (NIV)
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12 (NIV)
Message: After fleeing from Queen Jezebel, Elijah took refuge in a cave on Mount Horeb (also known as Mount Sinai). There, he encountered God, who instructed him to go out and stand on the mountain, revealing His presence through a gentle whisper rather than through wind, earthquake, or fire. This moment signifies a profound interaction between Elijah and God, emphasizing the importance of listening for God’s voice in quiet moments. It is about having courage and to see the truth that God not only wants to show us the way of salvation, but God also wants to bring us into a life of spiritual victory. And for Elijah this means that before victory can be found, and before blessings can be experienced God must reveal His perfect will by restoring His discouraged erring child. In 1 Kings Chapters 18 and 19 we find recorded the story of a man who experienced one of the greatest spiritual triumphs of all time but who shortly thereafter fled for his life in deep emotional and spiritual distress. In Chapter 18 Elijah reached the climax of his unusual and colorful career. There on Mount Carmel before 850 false prophets and the people of Israel, Elijah builds an altar to prove the faithfulness and omnipotent power of the true and living God. He gives the opportunity to the false prophets of Baal to make a sacrifice and prove the power and availability of their gods who Elijah jokes have gone elsewhere to relieve themselves. And when their vain ceremony failed to bring any viable results, God’s fearless prophet Elijah repaired the broken altar and offered his own sacrifice. And what he said is important for what Elijah wanted everyone to know was that what he was doing was of God and not of man. He prays for divine intervention. The result was that God answered. The fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. That day God’s holy presence was manifested, and the spiritually wayward nation was restored to full fellowship with God. And if the story of Elijah’s life had ended there, all that Israel and the world would have seen was the victory of one man’s battle with the power of spiritual darkness. Thankfully the story does not end with the focus on a human victory. In fact, in chapter 19 Elijah is not in victory at all but in spiritual dejection and despair all so we might be reminded of the frailty of the flesh and the ongoing availability of God. You see, Elijah was typically filled with and directed by the Spirit of God but upon hearing that Jezebel, the wicked wife of King Ahab was set on killing him, he begins to feel sorry for himself and flees into the wilderness to hide. So instead of standing his ground in the unfailing strength of God Elijah runs. In defeat he asks God to take away his life. But then in a dark damp cave on Mount Horeb, God begins to speak to his distraught, despairing servant to remind him of the folly and tragedy of spiritual despair and to get his sights set on his replacement who would complete twice the number of miracles of Elijah.
And So, it is not only possible but likely that we all will face difficult times. We all know and love people who are struggling with their health, relationships, or finances and sometimes we face that person in the mirror. But we worship a God who shines a light on the Biblical Truth that our God will never leave nor forsake us. Friends, it is our responsibility to keep our eyes upon the Lord and our ears tuned to His Word. God got Elijah’s attention to get this in a still small voice after the downcast prophet was unmoved by a whirlwind, earthquake and a raging consuming fire. God was in the love of a comforting stillness and gentleness. It was like the hush before a threatening storm… or like the emphatic pause in a musical strain. It was a strange but sacred stillness that brought Elijah to his senses. It was a still small voice of God that got through to Elijah. And maybe God has been trying to get your attention too, but like Elijah you refuse to listen. Maybe you like me hear what God is saying but because we don’t like it we fail to obey. The thing is that God is directing us all to continue to make a change in our lives. So have the courage to follow the lead of God to love God, love others and make disciples remembering that the Bible says that the steps of a righteous person are ordered by the Lord. So know that you are not only invited to imagine people trapped in a cave chained by an illusion but to help free them. We are to teach others that our perceptions are often flawed and that we must seek beyond our immediate surroundings to grasp the truth. The struggle is between truth and illusion and can be interpreted as a metaphor for the spiritual journey of believers, who are called to seek the truth beyond their limited understanding.
Pray that we have the courage, the good courage to wait on the Lord to strengthen our hearts and give us food for our spiritual journey. Pray that our courage is rooted in a soil deeper than the subconscious mind and confirms the feeling that God believes in us and that because God believes it fosters a belief in ourselves. Pray we are lifted out of our littleness when our hearts and minds go into hiding. Pray we come to God to consider how good and faithful and wonderful God is. Pray we consider our spiritual condition and the forgiveness of our sin and understand that God gets us even when we get discouraged. Pray we realize that discouragement comes only when we take our eyes off of the Lord Jesus and begin to think about and dwell upon the trying and difficult circumstances around us. Pray we repent and are restored into a right relationship. Pray we are jubilant and victorious because the Lord of all of creation is on our side. Pray we channel God’s mercy, forgiveness, and love to those who have wronged us. Pray we help others to see this powerful reality and experience the healing it brings to those who are shown the truth in the Light of Jesus.Pray we believe the best is yet to come.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 