On hearing Elijah’s response, God knew his prophet had placed his focus in the wrong direction. Certainly, God’s ways may not necessarily be exactly as we expect them to be. Just like a prayer, the answers God may send can be very different from what we expect Him to do in our prayers. So God ordered Elijah to stand on the mountain before Him as He passed by. When that happened, a series of violent and spectacular events took place, yet God was not found in any of them.
What Elijah saw before him was a strong and boisterous wind, forcefully rushing against the mountain, breaking the rocks into pieces, but the LORD was not found in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake, but God was not found in the earthquake. After the earthquake, fire came. Still, God was not in the fire. After the fire, a gentle wind began to blow. When Elijah heard the gentle blowing wind, he took his mantle and wrapped his face. Why? Perhaps it was for the same reason Moses was told, years ago in Exodus 33:20 saying, “You cannot see my face, for no man can see me and live.” Like Moses, perhaps Elijah also only managed to see the aftermath of God as he stood at the entrance of the cave.
God repeated the question he asked Elijah in verse 10. “What are you doing here Elijah?” Elijah had the same answer for the Lord as before. He maintained his position, insisting that he was the only one who was zealous for the LORD. He saw himself as the only one left, still zealous for the LORD. According to him, God’s altar had been torn down and His prophets killed. Everyone, according to him, had apostatized and deserted the Lord and the covenant. Furthermore, Jezebel was after his life.
The lesson for Elijah and for us is the same. God wants us to know that while outward events can point us to His works, what is more important is to hear His definitive word each day. He often speaks in the quieter moments of life. We may seek God in a multitude of activities, but nothing beats drawing away from the hustle and bustle of life to a quiet place to hear a definitive word from Him.
According to Mark 1:35, this is what Jesus did while he was on earth. “In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.” According to Psalm 5:3, this was what the Psalmist did also. He said, “In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.” Would you schedule a time of quiet moment each day, to meet with Him?
No comments:
Post a Comment