The days are rough and broken; we can see that across the world. Evil grows, and nature continues to become more extreme and intense as each day passes. Lies and deceit are continuing with no end. For those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ, it is difficult and sometimes unbearable. The words of the Lord thy God come to mind when hard times fall on us:
“I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Mathew 28:20).
But I wish to speak of another verse that many may have forgotten when adversity arises. I will speak about something the Lord told us through his intervention with Elijah in 1st Kings. We are all facing problems today, but let us not forget that so too did the heroes and apostles of old face problems that tested their resolve. Elijah was one such person. Even after witnessing God’s Power with his own eyes, fear took him when Jezebel sought to end his life for the works he had accomplished.
“Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, ‘May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.’ Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep” (1st Kings 19:1-5a).
We can all relate to Elijah and what happened. How many of us want to sleep and forget the world around us, to finally leave the world we are in and never come back. I have had that thought many times more than I can count.
Yet, the Lord had not abandoned Elijah and sent an angel to tend to him.
“All at once an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.’ So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night” (1st Kings 19:5b-9a).
The Lord has not abandoned us. Let me say this: while the world rages all around us and it seems that God is far away in the madness and noise, he is there.
As much as Elijah doubted and wanted it all to end, and as much as I or you or anyone else wants this to end, the Lord still has a plan for us and for us to learn something from it.
The Lord spoke to Elijah to move him.
“And the word of the Lord came to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’ The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by'” (1st Kings 19:9b-11a).
He is speaking to us in this dark time. Let me focus on this one important piece that the Lord thy God has shared with us in his holy book, the Bible, about the wind, the earthquake, and the fire that He showed Elijah.
“Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper” (1st Kings 19:11b-12).
The world rages, evil is all around us, and our circumstances are at times unbearable. The noise is all around, the madness continues loudly, destruction is ever-present, our minds are lost and tormented, our roads are broken, and the path obscured. And we cannot hear the Lord or see him in the madness…
But let me say this:
- Let not your mind focus on the raging of the world, the destruction, and the raging of evil.
- Ask the Lord thy God for help, and look not for a big, brilliant answer, a crescendo of thunder and lightning, a big voice, or a dream to tell you everything will be alright.
- Just listen for a gentle whisper, remember his promise from his word, and everything will be alright.
Let me leave you with what happened next in Elijah’s story and what the Lord thy God did to comfort him.
“When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’
“The Lord said to him, ‘Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him'” (1st Kings 19:13-18)
The Lord will comfort you no matter the circumstances; just listen for the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit to direct you and your path.
We are almost there… just a little bit more, and we will be home. Just believe in the Lord… believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of his one and only son Jesus Christ, and you will find peace.
God Bless You All,
Zachary Everett