The following is a guest blog post by Keneta Wolfenbarger.
Evil Jezebel, wife of Ahab (one of the kings of Israel) wanted Elijah dead. Sound like the plot of a police show on t.v.? Well, there’s more.
When Elijah found out, he was afraid and ran. Discouraged and exhausted in the desert, Elijah asked God to take his life. After God sent an angel to feed him and give him water, Elijah traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mount of God aka Mount Sinai.
Okay, let’s put the pause button on. Elijah was afraid for his life, and he traveled 40 days and 40 nights to Mount Sinai. Why? Well, Moses met with God there. That’s a good reason to go there, isn’t it? Let’s take the pause button off and see what happened.
After Elijah arrived at Mount Sinai and went into a cave, God asked him what he was doing there and then told him to “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” I sure would be excited and scampering out the opening of the cave, wouldn’t you?
We’re then told that the Lord passed by the cave. A heavy-duty wind broke up the mountain, and then there was an earthquake and a fire followed by a “low whisper.” When Elijah heard the whisper, “he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.”
Okay, let’s stop right here. This is when I always ask myself, “What would have happened if Elijah had stood on the mount before the Lord like God told him to do instead of staying in the cave? What wondrous things did Elijah miss because of his fear?” And I can’t help but ask, “What caves are we hiding in, and what are we missing in our walks with God by hiding in those caves?”
We all love the story of Peter climbing out of the boat to walk on a stormy sea to Jesus. And he was doing a good job of walking on that stormy sea until he took his eyes off Jesus. That’s when his fear set in. It’s true, we’ve got to get out of our boats if we’re going to walk stormy seas for Jesus, but it’s also true that we must stay focused on Him. Jesus Christ is our Captain, our Anchor, our Compass, our reason for climbing out of our boats and out onto the crashing waves---so why would we want to take our focus off Him?
Like the hemorrhaging woman, we should crawl in the dirt to touch the fringe on the cloak of Jesus; like Mary Magdalene, we should cling to Him with every ounce of energy in us. Why? Three words: faith, love, obedience.
May we come out of our caves, climb out of our boats and reach out for Jesus!
-kkw- (“Soli Deo Gloria”)