Word of Encouragement (06/04/2024)

“And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God. ⁹ There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" ¹⁰ He said, "I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” (1 Kings 19:8-10)

Eyes cannot not see. Minds cannot not think. But what we see with our eyes and what we think with our minds can be so wrong when we lose sight of God.

When God asked Elijah what he was doing in Horeb, the mount of God, Elijah gave Him a piece of his mind: “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away” (v. 10). You can sense a tone of resentment in his voice. You can also see what he saw and thought at that time. He saw a lot of what was going on in Israel—the evil of Israel’s apostasy. It did not just forsake its covenant with the LORD, but it also actively opposed and persecuted the true religion by breaking down the altars of the LORD and killing His prophets with the sword. He saw that he alone was left, and the Israelites were trying to kill him as well.

Elijah also saw how he had been jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. Elijah suddenly appeared on the scene (17:1). We know that he was a Tishbite from Gilead (17:1), but that is pretty much all we know about him. We don’t know what his life was like before his appearance, and how he was called. His ministry was not easy. He had the uncomfortable task of announcing to Ahab God’s judgment against Israel for its apostasy in the form of a three-and-a-half-year drought. As a result, he had to live and minister in hiding, running away from Ahab. At the command of God, Elijah initiated the battle of prophets at Mount Carmel and succeeded in showing that YHWH was the only true God and killing the 450 prophets of Baal. But the repentance and revival of Israel he expected did not happen. Instead, he had Queen Jezebel vowing to kill him!

Elijah does not spell out what he thought, but his words reveal enough: while he has been faithful and jealous for the LORD of hosts, the LORD has not kept His end of the bargain. We are surprised by his audacity to say such a thing to God. After all, he was a prophet, and he should have known better. But we cannot deny that such a thought occurs in our minds. Why do we get resentful and upset (at God) when “bad” things happen to us? Isn’t it because we find fault with God while we don’t see anything wrong with us? Even when we see our faults, we think that God should be big and gracious enough to overlook them and prosper us. God is indeed gracious, but He is also holy. And if our salvation and happiness are found in our union with Him, His grace can be truly gracious when He sanctifies us to be holy in His likeness, not just when He forgives us. For He, who is the most blessed and happiest Being of all, is a holy God.

Are we so full our ourselves that we cannot see God clearly or not see Him at all? It is harmful and dangerous to lose sight of God. Turn your eyes and thoughts away from yourself (especially from your self-righteousness) toward God and meditate on Him, counting His blessings on you, especially the saving love He has shown to you by sacrificing His Son while you were a sinner. Then, you will be able to view yourself and what is going on in your life and the world through the perspective of God. Then, you will be able to see everything in a new light and the blessing of having the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).