Elijah had issues. He was insecure, afraid of the future, and seemingly all alone. He two options… two different caves as it were. Elijah made the wrong decision and it cost him his ministry.
This is the fourth and final post on 1 Kings 19:1-19. In our first post we learned that Elijah’s “still small voice” experience was actually not about God’s voice, but about valuing the voice of God coming through people we may consider “small”. In post two, we talked about how to value yourself if you consider yourself one of those “small people”. In our last post, we talked about what to do if you’re NOT one of those “small people”.
Now, we know from our first post that Elijah felt alone, but he was not alone… and he knew it. In 1 Kings 18:7-14 we see that the king’s right hand man told Elijah that he was hiding 100 prophets in caves to protect them from the king. Later, after calling down fire from heaven mind you, Elijah gets a death threat from the queen. Instantly, fear creeps in.
Elijah felt alone. He had two choices. Unfortunately, he chose the one we choose most of the time we are faced with doubt and insecurity… Isolation. He ran to an empty cave to hide from God and everyone else. When God shows up and questions him, what he (and we) essentially tells God is this, “There is no one equipped to help me.” But there were prophets in a different cave who could have listened to the voice of God and encouraged Elijah on his way.
There are people God has put in your life so that when you go through something, you have a safe place to run to Click To Tweet
In the midst of our pain and insecurity, its hard for us to see the value in others. As a pastor, I can’t tell you how many times people have told me “nobody understands”. Isolation is Satan’s number one tool. If he can get you away from people and believing no one can help you, he wins. Many think they are are getting alone to spend time with God, but there is a big difference in getting alone WITH God and getting alone FROM God. Which are you guilty of?
So the questions remains, are you running to God or from God? Running to God often means running to the people He has put in your life to be that safe place, that cave full of prophets. You don’t have to be alone. Believing in God means believing in others, and that is hardest to do when life is the hardest for us. But do it anyway. If you’re going through something as you read this (or the next time you do go through something… because you will), go talk to someone. Now. Don’t put if it off. Make it a priority and run to the right cave.
Who do you have in your life you can run to in difficult times? How are some ways you discovered those people? What are some situations you faced and how did others help you through them? Chime in! Your story could inspire someone else reading this!