JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!

“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?” (I Kings 19:9 NASB)

I have a question for you to answer when you are having one of those days where you feel down, depressed, or disconnected with reasons to rejoice. When you start having a pity party, a poor “woe is me” mentality, or you when you find yourself plummeting from your once joyous spirit, I have the same question to pose to you and I desired a reply. This same question also applies to you who whenever you find yourself wresting with the changes that come with the passing of time and you reach a point chronologically where the things you use to do, you can’t do no more. To cover as many situations as possible in a short amount of time, let me not leave out those believers who are fighting a real illness and forget the reality that we serve a God is still a healer, still a helper, and one who still will hold your hand all the way to eternity.

The question is the same one that God asked Elijah in the verse above. You know the story. Elijah had been victorious at Mt. Carmel, showed that our God is the one and only true and living God. Yet, because of a threat on his life, Elijah ran away, sat down under a juniper tree, ready to give up. But God was not done with him yet. He ends up taking a long trip to Horeb, the mountain of God, and he hides in a cave. That’s when the Lord ask the question, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

When we face any of those times described in the first paragraph or similar times not listed, we must ask ourselves the same question that God asked Elijah, putting our name in the place of Elijah’s name. I’ll use my name as an example. “What are you doing here, Mark?” As we respond from a personal perspective, let us not try to justify our feelings, but let us just remember the things that the Lord has done for us and has promised to do for us. This will lift us up from wherever our “here” may be when the question is posed.

Just remember how the Lord has intervened in your situations before!  Just remember how the Lord sustained you through challenges! Just remember how the Lord delivered you from your down times before! Just remember all the recent and long ago victories the Lord have you over your opponents (Satan, self, and the secular world)? Just remember when you thought that life was not all that, but then your remembered something about Jesus’ resurrection and His reassurance about going to prepare a place for us. To supplement that remembering, let these words, written in 1971 by Bill and Gloria Gaither, came to your mind. “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know who holds the future. And life is worth the living just because He lives!

Now don’t forget! Don’t just answer the question, but respond from a personal perspective, just remembering the things that the Lord has done before and what He has promised to do in the future. And remember, He promised never to leave you or forsake you. After your answer, come from your “down” mentality and raise “up” with a made-up mind to press on in the days ahead. Listen, friend! Don’t just read this meditation but use the suggested content whenever necessary. Your days will be better. Be blessed!

Committed to the climb,

Mark L. King