What am I doing here? Meditations on 1 Kings 19.

1 Kings 19: 9—At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.  Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

The story of Elijah is one just about anyone can relate to.  He had been doing exactly what God had called him to do, and he was doing a really great job.  But the people in his community were not happy with him.  In fact, they despised his work so much that they wanted to kill him.  Elijah got scared and fled into the wilderness.  There, the Lord revealed himself to Elijah and He asked him, “What are you doing here?”  What a profound question...

Sometimes we need space, time alone, to regroup and think about what we are doing and ask ourselves, “What am I doing here?”  Are we following God’s will for our lives?  Are we trusting him above all else, even when the world is critical of what we are doing?  I still remember the day I realized that by following God I was inheriting the disapproval of so many around me.  Sometimes that included the disapproval of my family and other Christians who did not understand God’s calling in my life.  There were times I felt lonely, afraid, and sad just like Elijah.  I even questioned whether I was really following God.  At the end of the day, though, God always revealed Himself to me, and I learned to rely on that.  C.S. Lewis once said, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”  God has made each of us uniquely for another world-His world.  When we let ourselves experience a relationship with Him and follow His leadership in our lives, we have nothing to fear in this world. 

As you mediate and pray on the Scripture for this week’s message (1 Kings 19:1-13), ask God to reveal His will for your life.  Thank Him for His steadfastness and reliability.  Resolve to follow His direction even when the world questions you.