God's Question is God's Grace

Questions of the Soul:  What are you doing here?

Scripture:  1 Kings 19:1-13

Sometimes life is just hard.  Things do not go as planned.  Illness, disease, divorce, job termination and death come with no warning. Nations go to war and children die every day from hunger and malnutrition.  And, sometimes we just want to run away from it all.

Elijah, a prophet of God for the northern Kingdom of Israel, was at a difficult place in his life. During this time, King Ahab was in charge.  When King Ahab married Jezebel, there was a rise in Baal worship in Israel.  Elijah defeated 450 prophets of Baal in the verses leading up to our scripture passage today.  And now Jezebel, who was not to happy with Elijah, wanted to kill him.  Elijah was overwhelmed with failure, fear and despair and decided to run away from it all.  He ran away from the people and place to which God had called him.  He ran to the wilderness - to a cave where he was instructed by God to go out and stand on the mountain.  There on Mount Horeb, also know as Mount Sinai where Moses received the 10 commandments, Elijah hears the still small voice of God calling a second time from sheer silence - "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

Elijah's life was changed when he finally stopped and listened to God's still small voice - "What are you doing here?"  It was if God's question was a whisper of God's grace.  God was with him and sends him back out with renewed strength and confidence.

God doesn't just reveal himself only in powerful miraculous ways.  To look for God only in something big (rallies, churches, conferences, highly visible leaders) may be to miss him because he is often found gently whispering in the quietness of our hearts - even when we are running away.

Are you listening for God?  Stop your running and step back from the noise and activity of your busy life. Listen for God's gentle whisper.