This is a story about one of two men that did not die. Enoch had walked with God and was taken so that he did not see death; Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind (1 Kings 19:1-6). In the preceding chapter, Elijah has a contest with evil prophets. In this chapter, Elijah flees for his life.
Jezebel was maddened with regard to the passing of her prophets since they had told her what she wanted to hear, forecasting her future glory and power. Their occupation was to immortalize the king and queen and assist with preserving their realm.
Jezebel was likewise furious on the grounds that her allies had been dispensed with and her pride and authority harmed. The finances that she had used to put resources into these prophets were presently lost.
Elijah, who caused the prophets' deaths, was a steady, persistent issue for Jezebel since he was continually prophesying about anguish and destruction.
Since she was unable to control his activities, she pledged to kill him. However long God's prophet was around, she was unable to do all that she wanted to do.
So, Elijah flees for his life. He is not heroic or courageous. He runs and hides under a tree and requests to die. His attitude had become what is called the “I quit; I give up.” How many of us have felt this way and have cried out, “What is the use?” So, why does Elijah feel this way?
It could be that he expected a different reaction from Jezebel and Ahab. It might be that Elijah expected God to act in a certain way. His faith was based upon his knowledge of God, not on God Himself.
1. Work Out Our Fear in Prayer
We see Elijah's fear, which is evident in the flight of Elijah. Fear had gripped his heart, so he fled. Elijah had become overworked, overwrought, and over-worried. We expect God to act a certain way, but when he doesn’t, like we think he should, our faith hits bottom. . . “oh woe is me.”
A Christian is to be completely fearless and continually cheerful, and he is constantly in trouble. Next, we see Elijah become despondent, and he wants to die. Yet he runs away because he is afraid to die (Job 3:20-21; Jeremiah 20:14).
We can become illogical when we turn from faith to fear. Self-pity sets in. It could be that Elijah is thinking, “I have done my part; I cannot take anymore.” Self-pity is the result of having fallen from faith to self-trust, and self-trust results in self-pity (1 Corinthians 10:13).
At the point when Elijah escaped to Mount Horeb, he was getting back to the holy place where God met Moses and gave his laws to humankind.
Clearly, God invigorated Elijah with extraordinary strength to travel this significant stretch, north of 200 miles, without extra food.
Like Moses before him and Jesus after him, Elijah abstained for 40 days and 40 nights (Deuteronomy 9:9; Matthew 4:1-2). Hundreds of years after the fact, Moses, Elijah, and Jesus would get together on the top of a mountain (Luke 9:28-36).
2. Submit Ourselves to God’s Care
God takes care of the physical as well as the spiritual. Elijah needed rest and resuscitation, then afterward, he was strengthened and readied for the next part of his journey. There is something about fasting and prayer that is important. It helps us to focus on God and not ourselves.
Elijah believed that he was the only individual who was still consistent with God. He had seen the priesthood and the royal court become bad. In the wake of encountering extraordinary triumph at Mount Carmel, he needed to run for his life.
Forlorn and debilitated, he failed to remember that others had stayed unwavering amidst the country's fiendishness. At the point when we are enticed to feel that we are the final stragglers dedicated to an undertaking, we are not to quit working and feel frustrated about ourselves.
Self-pity will weaken all that we are doing that is good. Be guaranteed that regardless of whether we know what their identity is, others are steadfastly complying with God and satisfying their obligations.
So, we see Elijah sitting in a cave, and then the Lord wants to know what he is doing there. Elijah proceeds to tell the Lord what all the Israelites have or have not done. He thought that he was the only one left who was serving God (Romans 11:2).
There are times that we can get like that. We begin to question if we are in the place that we should be. We question if we are in the way of performing our duty. Are we where we should be, and are we doing what we should be doing?
Elijah is sent to the mountain. Normally when we are up on the mountain, things appear to be better or go much smoother. For some reason, the wind blew, an earthquake came, and there was a fire. Elijah does not seem to be afraid.
But then a still, small voice comes to him and asks what he is doing there. Elijah realizes that the still little voice was God's. He understands that God does not uncover himself just in incredible, inexplicable ways.
3. Seek God in Everything
To search for God just in something important might be to miss him since he is frequently seen as tenderly murmuring in the quietness of a lowered heart.
Have we genuinely tuned into God? We need to move away from the clamor and the action of our bustling lives and listen submissively and unobtrusively for his direction. It might come when we are not expecting it to.
God told Elijah that he was to anoint three unique individuals. The initial person was Hazael, as ruler of Syria. Elijah was told to bless an enemy ruler since God planned to utilize Syria as his instrument to rebuff Israel for its wrongdoing.
Israel's inward discipline came from Jehu, the next man Elijah was to anoint. As ruler of Israel, Jehu would obliterate the people who loved the false god Baal (2 Kings 9 and 10).
The third individual Elijah was told to anoint was Elisha, the prophet who would take Elijah’s place. Elisha's occupation was to work in Israel, the Northern Kingdom, and assist with pointing individuals back to God. The Southern Kingdom right now was governed by Jehoshaphat, a ruler dedicated to God.
What Does This Mean?
It may be that when it seems that God is not moving, wonderful things are happening that we do not see. God’s plan may not involve our eyes. A change of attitude is often key to a transformed life. God uses humility to open mighty ones.
When we feel depressed after a spiritual victory, we need to remember that God’s purpose for us may not be over. We are not to be tempted to feel sorry for ourselves. Self-pity dilutes the good that we are doing.
We need to shut out the noise of the world and listen humbly and quietly to the Lord’s voice. When we come to a place where things seem to be going bad and nothing is happening, and trials come, we should stop looking at the situation and look to the Savior.
For further reading:
How Should We Feel When God’s Timing Doesn’t Seem Perfect?
Trusting God in the ‘How Long?’
Will Praising God Help Us While We Wait?
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