Wind, Earthquakes & Fire

Sometimes I feel like I have no idea what I am doing... And I think the prophet Elijah often felt the same.

Elijah was being used by the Lord to bring spiritual restoration in the nation of Israel. Elijah had just proved that God existed and that Baal and the other idols the people were worshiping were completely false. He executed every single priest of Baal. He was doing as the Lord had called him... to turn the people's eyes back to the Lord. However, this made the evil King Ahab and his wife Jezebel angry. And they wanted Elijah's head...

All of the sudden, Elijah felt like he had no idea what he was doing. He was scared and he hid from King Ahab in a cave.

So, just like that, this great prophet of the Lord was hiding because he was scared, discouraged, and had no clue what he was doing. Elijah was supposed to be that prophet that had no fear, right? Didn't he always have the right words to say? Wasn't he always vocal about the things of the Lord?

However, despite Elijah's fear of Ahab, the Lord came and met him in this cave and asked him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" Elijah answered God by stating, "I alone am left, and they seek to take my life."

Elijah completely misses God's question. God didn't ask him "Why are you here?" but God said "What are you doing here?" That was the key question, what was he doing? To be honest, he wasn't doing anything. He was hiding from the King, when the Lord had called him to go out and be active among the nation.

So, God, seeing that Elijah doesn't get it, tells him to go out on the mountain top and stand before the Lord. So Elijah did, and what he saw was incredible. The Lord brought strong winds that tore the mountain, the rocks were breaking into small pieces, and then a huge earthquake came and was followed by fire. Elijah is out on the mountain, experiencing all this craziness, looking for the Lord. And the Word says, "But the Lord was not in the wind. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. But the Lord was not in the fire."

It was only until after all the noise and destruction that Elijah did hear a still small voice. The voice of the Lord. And then the Lord asked him the same question again, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" And after all that, Elijah still didn't get it. He answered the "why" question once again... "Lord, I'm alone. I'm scared. They are seeking to take my life."

And this is when the Lord tells Elijah straight up to "Go!" God had enough of his hiding and sitting on his hands. Elijah wasn't done with his work in the land of Israel. So Elijah finally obeyed the Lord, got up, and went.


Since being here in Ukraine, I have often felt discouraged, scared, and had no idea what I was doing here. I found myself answering God's question of "What are you doing here?" in the same manner Elijah answered that question. "Lord, I'm a missionary here. I'm here to reach the people of Ukraine with your gospel." And the Lord keeps tell me, "No, that's why you are here, but what are you doing?" Wait, God is asking me what I am doing here? That's a much harder question. I've followed His larger call in my life to move to Ukraine, but now that I am here, how am I seeking after His calling in my daily life to further His Kingdom? How am I allowing myself to be used to reach the lost and disciple the saved?

And then, just like the wind, earthquake, and fire for Elijah, I've experienced my own versions of craziness. But I kept forgetting to make sure to take some time to be quite and listen, because God has been speaking in that still small voice, and I have been too focused on the loudness around me to hear Him.

God is calling us to get off of our hands and serve Him. Just like He told Elijah to go... He is also telling me to go! So now, my daily prayer is "Lord, show me what I should do today."


God Bless,
Byron

(By the way, this story is found in 1 Kings 19. Go check it out for yourselves and let God's Word change your life!)