Word of Encouragement (06/05/2024)
“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)
Let us reflect further on what it means to lose sight of God. It can mean that God is completely out of our minds. There are many moments throughout the day when this is true for us. But that was not the case for Elijah here. After all, he was conversing with God! How could God be out of his mind completely? Even so, Elijah’s mind was so preoccupied with his opinions about what was happening in Israel and to him that his vision of God was horribly distorted and, at best, truncated. He had an overblown view of himself and his service to God, but a low view of God. He did not, and could not, deny the fact of what the LORD had done at Mount Carmel, but he failed to properly apply the significance of that event for him and for Israel.
We can see that just because we believe in God doesn’t mean we know Him properly. “Even the demons believe—and shudder” (James 2:19)! This is why we must be always immersed in the Word of God. We must submit ourselves to the truth of God’s Word and make our every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. To have a wrong perception of God is to lose sight of God. In Elijah’s case, losing sight of God led to resentment, victim mentality, and despair. Should it surprise us? When our perception of the world, which is fallen, is devoid of God, what can we expect to see?
Remember also where Elijah was speaking with God: God brought him to Horeb, the mount of God (v. 8). This was where God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and commissioned him to deliver Israel from the house of slavery in Egypt (Ex. 3). This was where God established a covenant with the nation of Israel to be His people. He appeared to them in thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud along with a very loud trumpet blast (Ex. 19:16), which grew louder and louder (19:19). He spoke to Moses in thunder (19:19). He spoke to the people of Israel directly, which caused them to be terrified and beg Moses to speak for God (20:19). It is possible to stand on such a theologically and covenantally and historically rich place totally unaware. How dark and deep is our self-absorption!
How did God deliver Elijah from it? By speaking His word to him. God showed him many different things—“And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke 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. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire” (vv. 11-12). We are repeatedly told that the Lord was not in the things that He had shown Elijah. Then, we are told, “And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it...” (vv. 12-13). We are not to live by sight but by faith (2 Cor. 5:7), which is in the Word of God. What we can see quickly disappears, but the word of God will stand forever (Isa. 40:8). May our prayers change from complaints and laments to praise and thanksgiving as we meditate on His Word!