Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.’ Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lordcame a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’ He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’ He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces 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 sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’Then the Lord said to him, ‘Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; (1 Kings 19:1-15a)
The old joke ends with the three little boys being asked, "Where is God?" The boy on the left seems to embody the classic retort in that joke, "We're really in trouble. Apparently God is missing and they think we took Him!" (The little boy on the left is my brother, Ernest who was attending VBS at El Buen Pastor Methodist Church in Kingsville in 1962). The passage from 1 Kings basically answers that question, where is God? The prophet served God very faithfully and effectively but was worn down by the opposition he encountered in that ministry. He defeated the prophets of Baal and in doing so angered the queen and king who should have been on his side. The queen vowed to kill him, and that was enough incentive for the prophet to flee for his life, and to ask God to take him home. God didn't have that plan yet. God provided food when the prophet thought he would die. And God directed him to the place where he needed to go. And after a journey of forty days and forty nights, he found a cave.There God spoke to him and he to God. Then God directs him to stand on the mountain where He said He would pass. A great, strong wind came splitting mountains and breaking rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. Then came an earthquake and the Lord was not in the earthquake. Then a fire, again the Lord not in the fire. Then sheer silence.
This silence made the prophet wrap himself with his mantle and God spoke to him again. Elijah again stated his case, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the people You sent me to minister to, have forgotten about Your covenant, destroyed the worship places, and killed those who worked for You - I'm the only guy left and even now they are looking for me to kill me." And God answered, "Go back to the wilderness of Damascus." God was not through with Elijah. Though discouraged and dismayed, God was with him, and needed him. God demonstrated things that can come against us even in nature, and God prevails every time, showing Elijah that even with what he had encountered and even what he believed he was facing, God was with him. And that was enough for God to say to him, "Keep doing what you're doing."
If you are discouraged and think you can't go on, think again. God is with you and God is mightier than whatever you are facing.
PRAYER: Loving God, You who have the strength of wind, earthquakes, fires, and even sheer silence, speak to my heart and encourage me to move forward and upward. I want to still do Your will in whatever setting it may be. This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
