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1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” 3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. 7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night. 9 And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 15 The LORD said to him, “Go back the way you came, (I Kings 19:1-15 NIV)
I've shared my horror stories of churches who a) wanted to place a Complaint Box on the altar table so church members could share their complaints against their pastor. b) Announce loudly during worship that if anyone had a complaint against their pastor to them. This passage would please these folks. Ahab was the president of the church council, and his wife Jezebel, was the chair of the pulpit committee. They had no love loss for their pastor, The Rev. Elijah Truthteller. Old Elijah did not put up with any stuff and even stood up against false prophets that the two chairpersons wanted to hire after they fired Rev. Elijah. They put their 400 pastors up against one, and they cried and yelled to their flase gods and Elijah calmly defeated them and after that showdown, unalived all 400. Yes, this was a brutal church! Jezebel did not hide her anger and threatens Elijah with death, and so the old man starts to run for his life, as would you and me! What follows next is pure human drama.
Elijah has reached the boiling point and confesses to God; "I have had enough , Lord, take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." And Elijah lays down and falls asleep; expecting God to take him in his sleep. But God had no such plans; an angel immediately awakens him and orders Elijah to get up and eat some of the hot bread that was fresh baked, and to drink from a jar of fresh water. Elijah eats and drank and went back to sleep again. A second time this is repeated with Elijah eating and drinking again. He then starts a 40-day journey which led him to Mount Horeb, where he goes into a cave and spends the night there. In the cave the Lord asks Elijah what he was doing there? Elijah reports he has been very zealous for God and God's people have revolted against God and against Elijah's ministry. They tore down the altars, rejected the covenant, put other prophets to death, and I'm the only one left and now, they're out to put me to death. God says and stand out on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. And then the great drama occurs: A great and powerful wind comes by, destroying the mountain, but God was not in the wind. Then an earthquake comes, again, the Lord was not in the earthquake. Then a fire, God was not in the fire, but then a gentle whisper and God asks again of Elijah what he was doing where he stood. Elijah repeats his speech and God simply says for him to return the same way he had come.
God’s response to Elijah’s exhaustion was not a rebuke, but rest. He gave him food, allowed him sleep, and sent him on a journey—not to punish him, but to meet him.
And when God does meet him, it’s not in the windstorm, the earthquake, or the fire—all things that had previously represented God's power. This time, it’s in a gentle whisper, or as the text says, “a sound of sheer silence.”
The presence of God met Elijah not in spectacle, but in stillness.
Sometimes, we look for God in the loud, the grand, or the dramatic. But God often meets us most powerfully in the quiet—through solitude, rest, or a soft word spoken in prayer. He listens when we cry out. He speaks when we feel empty. And just like Elijah, He reminds us that we are not alone.
God doesn’t just restore Elijah; He re-commissions him. There is still work to do, and God still trusts him to do it.
PRAYER: Lord, You are not only the God of fire and thunder, but also the God of silence and stillness. Thank You for meeting us in our weariness and reminding us that we are not alone. Speak to us in the quiet moments, restore our hearts, and help us trust Your voice even when it whispers. Strengthen us to rise again and walk in the calling You have given us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Make time for silence today—God may be closer than the noise is letting you hear.
I love you and I thank God for you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
