And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face
We’ve come to the last day of our journey with the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19. We followed Elijah as he went from being tired, depleted, depressed, and suicidal to obediently following God’s instructions as He led him into the desert for another challenging, long journey.
Finally, Elijah reaches his destination, Mount Horeb, and there something remarkable happens:
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. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 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?’ – 1 Kings 19:11-13
What I love so much about this story is that God reveals Himself to Elijah at a time when he is still very low and depressed, exhausted from the journey and completely isolated.
Sometimes we might think that to receive from God, we need to create the perfect circumstance, be in a “holy” mindset and have great faith to see God move.
But here we see God drawing near to a broken, struggling man. Revealing Himself at a time when Elijah is most vulnerable, where all his defences are down, and he has no agenda of his own. In that place of complete surrender, God draws near with a personal question, “What are you doing here?”
And then, once Elijah has poured out his heart to God, He gives him practical instructions for the next part of the journey.
Elijah’s time in solitude has come to an end. It was a season that was much needed for him, but God does not intend for Elijah (or for us) to remain in solitude forever. Eventually, we are called to live and worship in community with other believers (Hebrews 10:24).
This week has been quite the journey, and I’d love to know how it has helped or impacted you? If you missed any of the previous days, you can find them on the website.
