So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” —1 Kings 19:10–13
I am not sure why, but I have always found something humorous in this account of Elijah’s ministry. He had, just weeks earlier, stood up for the name of his Lord before 450 prophets of Baal and witnessed the fire of God consume the sacrifice, altar, and all the water around the altar, while the god Baal did nothing to answer the cries of his prophets. Elijah then had the 450 prophets executed, prophesied imminent rain in the midst of a drought, and was supernaturally empowered to outrun a king’s chariot to the city of Jezreel. I would say that Elijah was having a pretty monumental run of events. But when he arrived in Jezreel, he was threatened by King Ahab’s wife Jezebel and, despite all that he had seen and done, went into hiding because of her threats. So here was the prophet of the Lord, the man who had called down fire from heaven, executed hundreds of false prophets, prophesied torrential rains and saw it fulfilled, and outran the king’s chariot, hiding in a cave and lamenting, “I alone am left of the faithful prophets, and others are trying to kill me.”
Imagine the scene: The wind tore through the mountain, followed by an earthquake and then a fire. I wonder what Elijah expected to hear or see next from God. Maybe a heavenly “You’re awesome, Elijah,” or “You rock Elijah! You the man!” But what did he hear from God? “What are you doing here, Elijah?” asked the Lord. I believe Paul captured the essence of the Lord’s message to Elijah when he said, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2: Tim 1:7).
Has something or someone caused you to hide in a cave of silence? Maybe the fear of persecution has silenced you or put your faith in hiding. But God is saying to you, “What are you doing here hiding in fear? Speak up, and do not fear, for I have not given you that spirit.” Be bold today and confident in the power of God as you seek to stand fast in a fallen world.
Excerpt from “Body Builders” now available on Amazon.
