This week I want to start off with some verses from God’s word,““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?” 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.” And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” 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. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 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.” And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”” 1 Kings 19:9-18
Where are you looking for God, Elijah was expecting for God to come in a majestic way that was unmissable, but God came in a still small voice. Sometimes in our lives God shows up in ways we do not expect. We expect God to show up in our Churches or in our quiet times and He will show up there, but sometimes He shows up in other areas of our lives. In our relationship with God, He should be in every aspect of our lives, not just the parts where we want Him. God wants to use all aspects of our lives to reach others for Him and show the love of Jesus to all, in our time on the internet, our relationships, in our school/work, and in all the other areas of our lives. Sometimes in our lives we have to slow down long enough to be able to hear God, because He does not always show up in the most obvious ways. I find more often than not that we notice Him more in the valleys, just like during this time in Elijah’s life, where he was being chased by people who wanted him dead.
Also in this passage, God reminds Elijah that he is not the only one left that still loves Him, there are seven thousand more that did not worship another God. During this time in Elijah’s life, he is down because there were a lot of threats against his life and he is scared. And he feels like he is the only one still left serving God. I think sometimes we need to be reminded that there are others serving God too and others that want to, but they don’t know where to start, so we should encourage them. I want to encourage you that, yes there are a lot of bad things going on in the world, but there are just as many good things, if not more.
This week, pray that God would come into all the aspects of our lives and use us to reach and show the love of Jesus to all we come in contact with. Pray that they will hear Jesus through you and that they can see Jesus in you. That even when someone encounters your social media presence it would be obvious that you are a Christian and that there is something different about you. To quote a popular saying, for some people you may be the only Bible they ever read.