WATCHWORD:
11 And he said, Go, forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks 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: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? 1 Kings 19:11-13
1It is God himself, in his mercy, who has given us this wonderful work of telling his Good News to others, and so we never give up. 2 We do not try to trick people into believing—we are not interested in fooling anyone. We never try to get anyone to believe that the Bible teaches what it doesn’t. All such shameful methods we forego. We stand in the presence of God as we speak and so we tell the truth, as all who know us will agree. 3 If the Good News we preach is hidden to anyone, it is hidden from the one who is on the road to eternal death. 4 Satan, who is the god of this evil world, has made him blind, unable to see the glorious light of the Gospel that is shining upon him or to understand the amazing message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is God. 2 Corinthians 4:1-4
Meditation:
What Doest Thou Here?
Have you ever been disappointed? Silly question. You hoped for one thing and ended up getting something else, totally unexpected and unwelcomed. Maybe you wondered, “What was my Lord thinking?”, yet you plowed on and got through it.
The prophet Elijah had spent a major part of his life proclaiming God’s Word, even when it was not popular. There was even a bounty on his head, which caused him to flee and try to hide. He felt totally alone and that everyone was against him, and told God as much.
I get the impression that God was not pleased with Elijah, and his complaints, and tells him to go stand on the mountain. Can you imagine Elisha thinking everyone was against him, and now God was going to take care of it, he’s putting me on the mountain and I’ll be safe up here while God wipes out everyone.
Sorry Charlie, that was not God’s plan. Instead, more trouble came Elisha’s way: the strong wind, the earthquake, and then fire. I can only imagine the prophet thinking this is all part of God’s plan, but God was not in those things.
It was after all of the violence, all of the threats, all the day’s difficulties that there was a sound, a gentle whispering, not at all what Elisha was expecting, and then God asks him what are you doing here? God allowed Elisha to complain about his circumstances again and again but simply gave him still another task to do. Were you just given another task to do?
Sometimes I wonder if serving the Lord often comes to us in the midst of our own very busy schedules for a reason, and we ask ourselves, “How can I do one more thing?” It is then that we begin to realize that God meant what He said when He told us that he would equip us to follow his will, even in the face of our current circumstances, most of which we have created for ourselves.
That is called Ministry, being a Disciple of Christ. We are not to be derailed by our own constructed busy-ness, no matter how difficult it may be. We need to stay at peace in His presence and be aware of the gentle breeze, the quiet whispering of the Holy Spirit within. Encouragement in our walk is not a lighted billboard, shouted words, cheerleaders. More often than not it is a Word, spoken softly within. Perhaps a gentle question: What doest thou here? Amen.
Requirements:
You know what the Lord requires of us is pretty simple, found in Micah 6 — To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God. His commands were love the Lord with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. Easy, straight forward. Sometimes, if we are really active in our walk as Christians, it’s feels like there is so much more we are called upon to do. I recall a comment made, partly in jest, when I served as a call consultant to a Lutheran Church in another city, when the candidate asked what are your expectations of the pastor, the answer was “We’d like you to be Superman.”
That is not what God had in mind when He made you a Disciple. Think/pray about that.
Prayer for Discernment:
Father, we pray that You will help us to grow in discernment, (Romans 12:2). Lead us on the path of wisdom and guard us from making foolish decisions. Help us to think clearly and to weigh correctly. Give us the humility that seeks and hears the wise counsel of others. Help us to hear more clearly the whisperings of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.
