“What Are You Doing Here?”
1 Kings 19:1-18
Then he [Elijah] came there to a cave [on Mount Horeb] and lodged there; 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 zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking 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. After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Then he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” The LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram; and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
Each one of us has either wrestled with, is wrestling with, or will wrestle with the question, “Why am I here?” I think this is natural and healthy. It is necessary for us to seek to discern God’s plan and purpose for us. We might broadly say that we are here to worship God and to proclaim Jesus; yet, this answer invariably leaves us wondering “how?”
Elijah forgot how God performed many great miracles through him. Miracles like stopping the rain for over three years and raising the widow’s son from the dead.
Elijah forgot how God cared for him while he was in the wilderness. God sent the ravens to feed him twice a day. Then, God caused a jar of flour and a bottle of oil to not go empty so that he, the widow, and her son could eat and live.
Elijah, even while speaking with God had forgotten the close fellowship he enjoyed with God. We are like Elijah in that we too, easily forget what God has done, will do, and is doing for us.
Remembering God’s Faithfulness
The most effective way to remember God’s power is to continually proclaim God’s power to the world. We proclaim what God did for us as individuals and as a community. Jesus tells the man formerly known as Legion to, “Go home to your people and proclaim to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19). This is also a mandate for us to follow as well.
We also must remember to share God’s blessings He provides to us. We do this in a variety of ways; by proclaiming, by tithing, by giving of our time and energy, as well as many other ways. Paul teaches, “My God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Philippians 4:19). Remember how God provides for you.
We also forget we have continuous fellowship with God, even when we are busy praying to God! But our fellowship with God is unlike that of Elijah. Our fellowship with God is through Jesus.
We have the promise of Immanuel. Remember the words of the angel to Joseph, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23).
We have the promise of Jesus, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). We have the promise of the Holy Spirit. “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans” (John 14:16-18a).
You are not alone. Often we feel alone, like Elijah felt alone. But we are never alone.
We have Jesus, who will never leave us nor forsake us.
We have the Holy Spirit who is our eternal companion and guide.
We have the fellowship of faith, that which we call the Church. “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another;” (Hebrews 10:24-225).
Questions Raised in Elijah’s Story
“How long will you hesitate? If the Lord is God, follow Him!” (18:21). Elijah asked this question to the people at Mt. Carmel. God is asking us this question today. How long will we hesitate to follow the commands of God? How long will we hesitate to do what God has called us to do?
What are you doing here? God asked Elijah, “What are you doing here?” That is, “Why are you hiding in this cave, when I gave you a message to proclaim?” And God is asking us, “Why are we hiding in this cave that we call a sanctuary, when God has given us a message to proclaim?”
It is time to stop hesitating. It is time to act upon our faith. It is time for us to stop hiding in the cave of this sanctuary. God is asking us, you and me, “How long will you hesitate? What are you doing here?”
