Source: The Waters Church |
You would think that nothing could effect this mighty man of God and yet it is only a short while after the ‘Mount Carmel incident’ that we find him afraid and on the run because of the threats of a woman! 1 Kings 19:3-4 ‘Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. ‘He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness travelling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. I have had enough Lord he said take my life for I am no better than by ancestors who have already died’. This is such a vivid picture of Elijah, in the wilderness, alone and struggling to make sense of all that had happened. Driven by his fear and his human nature he asks the Lord to take his life as he was no better than all the people that had gone before and let the Lord down. He wanted to be different, he wanted to be faithful, he wanted to be dependable, and he had put himself ‘out there for the Lord’ but had been defeated by fear. His human nature had taken over, as human nature does.
Even when we are doing great exploits for the Lord, or just trying to live to serve Him in the quietness of our own lives and families, we can be slayed by the smallest thing, a single thought or a harsh word a disappointment or sometimes even confusion over what is happening in our lives or the lives of others. In a moment we can forget all the Lord has done, all the miracles we have seen and experienced, all the assurance we have ever received and all we can think about is the current issue. We take our eyes off the Lord and in a moment we can be filled with fear and find ourselves on the run, sometimes physically by trying to take ourselves somewhere else or spiritually by running away from the Lord, not praying, sometimes not going to church and putting down our bibles and turning to other things. Pretty soon we can find ourselves sitting in a wilderness under a solitary tree feeling totally defeated and that we are a failure.
Source: PInterest |
Our human nature so likes to blame other people; ‘they did this’, ‘they are saying that’, ‘I`m trying my best but look at what they are doing’. I can think of many times in my life when I have done this and I know that I will probably do it again in the future because it is our human nature to blame others, after all it started with Adam blaming Eve and Eve blaming the serpent. It's embedded in us, however God has a different way for us. He didn’t answer Elijah`s arguments or give an explanation, instead He told Elijah; ‘to go outside and stand on the mountain’. It was there on the mountain of the Lord that God revealed His strength and awesome power in the form of a windstorm, earthquake and fire, but in none of these terrifying events did the Lord reveal the essence of His Presence. It was in a still small voice, a gentle whisper, it was this gentle whisper that enticed Elijah from the protection of the cave to stand before the Lord. And what did the Lord whisper to Elijah… ‘What are you doing here Elijah?’ to which Elijah replied with the same reason as before. I think this part of the account displays the Lord's amazing grace to us, His people. He had just demonstrated the extent of His Power to control all things to Elijah, but Elijah was still holding on to his grievances, his fears and his reasons. Instead of God saying to him ‘well if you feel like that after all I have revealed to you, then get on with it you are of no use to me like this’, instead He said a strange thing to him; 1 Kings 19:15 ‘go back the same way you came’.
So often when things go wrong we want to run away and we expect the Lord to change everything. We do not want to face our fears because that feels the most comfortable thing to do, however, there is no victory in that. God knows this so He often sends us back to where we are running from to fulfill the purpose He has for us there. He did it with Jonah and He did it here with Elijah. The Lord also gave Elijah instructions of what to do next and assurance that he was not alone. God knew that on the journey back Elijah would have time to reflect on all the Lord had shown him and he would be in a better place to fulfill all the Lord wanted him to do including anointing the next prophet of Israel.
I am so encouraged and grateful for this account in God’s Word and James`s reflection that Elijah was a man with a nature just like ours and the fact that God was able to really use him. I find that so encouraging in the times when I feel the worst about myself. If I can take the time and put myself in the place where I can hear God’s still small voice, His gentle whisper then I can be encouraged to know that His Grace will lift me up, set me on the right path and allow me to be and do what he wants me to be and to do.
May God bless you.
Author: Jan Pearson
May God bless and enrich your life
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Thank you for this blessing this morning which reminds us to keep our minds focussed on the Lord and to seek Him at all times and in all circumstances. May we listen out for God's gentle voice rather than submit to our own human thoughts and desires and let us face our challenges and fears with boldness and confidence in the knowledge that the victory belongs to Him. God bless
ReplyDeleteThank you SO much for taking the time to write this Blog and Bless the body of Christ this morning. ALL the Glory to God ALWAYS.
ReplyDeleteGod asks me this morning through the Blog,
"What are you doing here?" (1 Kings 19 v10 AND AGAIN in v13).
People were trying to kill Elijah but God said to him
"Go back the same way you came..........." (1 Kings 19 v15.)
God help us to hear your gentle whisper (1 Kings 19 v12) and to boldly proclaim with confidence through the power of the Holy Spirit,
"here I am Lord, send me" (Isaiah 6 v8)
So often the first thing we do or want to do when faced with a situation we don't like or feel we can't control is to run away, as if that somehow will deal with the issue. But in fact all it does is make it worse. We can run but we can't hide from God, and the problem with running away is, that we often run out of God's will for us. If we are committed to doing the Father's will then that can often require us to go back the way we came so that God can deal with what caused us to run in the first place and deal with us and our fear. This blog is a great wake up call to us all to stop running away when things don't go as WE want them to and start running into God's presence so we can follow His gentle whisper and stay on the right pathway. I guess the question I need to ask myself is; 'my will or His will be done in my life?' Great blog, thank you. Be blessed.
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderful blog to read this morning , we can all certainly relate to this message , the distractions that keep us from God are MANY . The lessons we learn from these bible characters are so important , it shows us Gods Amazing GRACE and MERCY . We can all thank God for these Bible truths that God uses to help us when we fall short of what we are expected to do . Also I thank God for this blog that was penned so beautifully and wisely . may our lord truly Bless you x
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the blog today which reminds us that God speaks to us in quietness of the day when we are able to hear Him in a small voice we are all have a nature like Elijah all we have to do is be obedient servant may the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all Amen
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