Scripture:
I Kings 19:11-18 NKJV
[11] 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; [12] and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a still small voice. [13] So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Suddenly, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” [14] And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because 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.” [15] Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. [16] Also, you shall anoint Jehu, the son of Nimshi, as king over Israel. And Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah, you shall anoint as prophet in your place. [17] It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. [18] Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
Observation:
I love the story of Elijah. The way he trusted and operated inside GOD’S will and with HIS power and authority was absolutely amazing. After an intense battle with over 800 prophets who served a god named Baal and the execution of those prophets. Queen Jezebel was furious and wanted him dead. Elijah, the man of GOD who just had a showdown with over 800 men and won, became scared and ran to a cave on Mount Horeb. Fearing for his life due to a death threat from a woman. He went to the cave seeking solitude and time alone with GOD. Needing to hear the voice of the all-mighty GOD. After the journey, I’m sure he was tired. But he still wanted to hear from GOD. So, a little time in prayer was necessary. Listening intently with a trained ear, the earthquake, fire, and thunderstorm went by without any word from the LORD. Then, the gentle whisper of the LORD came from the wind that blew, and Elijah knew it was time to talk with the one who created him. Standing at the mouth of the cave. He brought it to the attention of the LORD that he has been very zealous for HIM and was left all alone. There were no other prophets left in the land to do the will of the LORD it was all up to Elijah… well, in his mind anyway. You see, what Elijah didn’t realize is that he could only see from a limited perspective, and although he thought he was all alone… the only one left to fight. But GOD had 7000 men in Israel who were on reserve 7000 that had not bowed their knee to Baal. The LORD gave Elijah instructions to go find and anoint a small list out of that 7000 men, including his predecessor Elisha. Who would be even greater, Elijah.
Application:
When fear sets in and pride takes over, it’s easy to believe that we are the only ones who are doing the work of GOD. When we feel like we are all alone because we have somewhat isolated ourselves so that we could… ” Hear from GOD ” we might even that that it’s true. As we look around and see no one tangible in the fight with us, it’s possible that when we do talk to GOD that we would be somewhat arrogant, thinking that we are the only dog in the fight. However, one thing we need to never forget is that GOD is so much bigger than our understanding of HIM. There is so much that we don’t see. We look at the whole fight as though we are the only ones. But we are not. GOD is doing things in areas we can’t even see. As we look at the world through the mouth of our little cave, as if our church is the only one doing anything for the kingdom. We might find ourselves surprised to see how prideful that thought really is. This fight is not about us, and although our limited perspective is all we can see, there are people all over the world in this fight with us. We have to remember that GOD does not lose. What HE sets out to do HE WILL DO. Rather than thinking we are so much better, we should be thinking about joining together with the rest of GOD’S army. We are not elite, and we are also not alone. I have noticed that the enemy has been very calculated about his attack, drawing denominational lines and allowing pride to set in. So that not only will we think we are the only ones in the fight, but we will push those away who are actually fighting with us because of gray areas in the bible. Over and over in the bible unity is spoken about. The would denomination comes from a Greek word that means to divide. The church is not the building you go to a few days out of the week. The church is a body of believers that you may never see, especially if you think your church is the only dog in the fight. This is a spiritual battle. That is going on all over the world, and the age-old art of war is being used against us, and we are falling for it. Divide and conquer. If we are too busy thinking our church is the only one doing anything for GOD and standing in pride, thinking it’s all about us… then we are on dangerous ground. I say rather than thinking that we are the best we sound pray for the church as a whole. Let’s get outside the 4 walls that we isolated ourselves in and think bigger. This is not about us. It’s not about what I do or what you do it’s about what GOD does that we can’t even see. Once we train our ear to hear HIS still small voice, we will know that HE knows way more than we do. Let’s come together as THE CHURCH rather than being divided as our church.
Prayer:
Father, your plan is bigger than we can see. We hear your voice saying we are not the only ones. You have a plan, and you have men and women all around the world praying for the church as a whole. You have people placed strategically all over the world who believe in unity. Men and women that we may never meet whom we may never hear their names who have taken it upon themselves to pray outside the 4 walls of the building they go to for worship. Ture worshipers who worship in spirit and in truth. Open our spiritual eyes so that we can see the truth of the battle. Help us to see that those who are fighting with us are more than just those who go to the same building we do a few days throughout the week. We want to see bigger than just the building father. What we are asking for is unity. We want to be united with all believers, not just the ones we see. Let us pray together as the body of christ…. not the Baptist church or the Pintacostal church. But those who know love and have pledged their live ti serving the one true GOD YAHWAH the GOD and father of all creation. United us as the true body of believers. Outside the 4 walks of the building, we isolate ourselves in. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus we pray amen.