1 Kings 19:9-10 – It’s all about perspective

Discouraged, Elijah went up to Mount Horeb and 1 Kings 19:9 said he went and lodged in a cave. Explicitly, Horeb in 1 Kings 19:8 was called the mountain of God. This was the same place where Moses had the burning bush experience and received the call of God to be Israel’s deliverer years ago. It was also here that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments for Israel and formally made them His covenant people.  Now on this same mountain, the word of Israel’s Covenant  Lord  came to Elijah, asking, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” When God asked that question, He was not necessarily seeking an answer. God was giving Elijah the moment to clarify his thoughts, unburden his soul and state his concern. It was meant for him to express what was troubling him.

So in 1 Kings 19:10, Elijah responded. He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” Elijah was not only expressing his disappointment but also his doubt that the ending of the drought and his victory at Mount Carmel would mean much to the rebellious people of God. It is true that the people had been rebellious from the day the covenant was given. They had repeatedly rebelled against the commands of God. In Elijah’s estimation, the drought, and the victory at Mount Carmel did not seem to change much. He felt as if he was the only one zealous for the LORD.  

In life, having the right focus and perspective is important to ensure a victorious journey with God. While it was good that Elijah had great zeal for God, he, unfortunately, set his eye too narrowly on the problem at hand. In the book of Exodus, Moses encountered the same problem years ago, he went before God and prayed. Now Elijah encountered the same problem, he complained and wished to die. It’s because he evaluated everything from his narrow experience. Instead of focusing on the victory God had brought through him so far, he concentrated on the threat of Jezebel. It is true that when our eyes are fixated on the problem, we tend to magnify and exaggerate it. But when we fix our eyes on God, our problems are usually not as big as they seem to be. Our victory in life is on keeping our focus on the bigness of our God and not the bigness of our problem or burden. Jesus said that if we have faith in God, even if it is just the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains. What matters in our faith journey is not the size of our problem but the size of our God. It does not matter what we are going through in life, but it does matter if we have God with us. Remember, there is no problem too big that God cannot solve. Our victory in Him is sure!