“Then he came there to a cave and spent the night there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of armies; for the sons of Israel have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they have sought to take my life.” So He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and powerful wind was tearing out the mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind there was 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 sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Then he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of armies; for the sons of Israel have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they have sought to take my life.” The Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram. You shall also anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. And it shall come about that the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.” (I Kings 19:9-18 New American Standard Bible)
Look, I know you like the stories that usually precede the meditations, but every once and awhile, I need to direct you to a specific passage and let you pull out a specific message that the Lord will reveal specifically to you. Now while the Lord may have something to say to you that is just for you this morning, I want all who choose to read today’s meditation to answer this question, “Do you need to be asked the same thing?” What I mean is, does the Lord ever find you where you have withdrawn from your work, went into a figurative cave where you were no longer serving with the enthusiasm and energy as you once did, and He had to ask you, “What are you doing here?” more than once? You stalled with excuses, explanations, and consider them to be excellent reasons for being where the Lord found you. But that was to no avail. The Lord still wants to know in such cases, “What are you doing here?”
If you are in a place like Elijah was when the Lord came to him, or if you ever find yourself in such a place in the future, I hope God will speak to you through this passage, saying to you personally, “Go, return! Return to doing what I called you to do! Return to the carrying out your work! Leave the pity-party and partake in what I purposed you to do!” Meditate on the passage. Store this word in your heart! Be blessed!
“This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9 NLT Version)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King