Still Small Voice
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9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
The Lord Appears to Elijah
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
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The reading is set in the 9th Century BC. Ahab was king of Israel wife, Queen Jezebel was Phoenician. Many non-Israelite ways had crept into the culture, including the worship of Baal (the new state religion was a religion of many gods).
The prophet Elijah, in faith, challenged the prophets of Baal as to which God would break the drought, the gods of Baal or the God of Israel. If you know the story, Elijah's God won hands down. It is one of the absolute miracles of the Old Testament on Mount Carmel - the power God of Israel, consumed in fire the altar (even the stones and land beneath).
In Elijah's time, a lot like today, it wasn't that there was no spirituality; it was that there were many spiritualties. The people wanted to believe there was a spiritual dimension and had a pick and mix type of worship through the gods of Baal.
Today, even as I go around visiting in the hospital, I find that people are into yoga, Buddhism, reincarnation, spiritualist, Latter-Day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses.
(Last Thursday, there were just 5 people in the hospital who were recorded as 'No religion'. We asked them how they would like chaplaincy to support them, and they asked us to pray for them)! Even in today's secular society, the question is not 'is there a God?' but which God should I believe in.'
Elijah was in a similar situation, and in the spectacular Mount Carmel miracle, Yahweh demonstrated that He was the true God. Notice what happens next…
He Moves from Faith to Fear
“the Power of the Lord comes on Elijah” —1 Kings 18:46
and what did he do? He started to run. He ran all the way to Jezreel (the Capital), where he was previously a wanted man. But 'the power of the Lord was on Elijah, and he ran to the hotbed of multi-faith living, determined to press King Ahab to make Yahweh the state religion and reject multi-faith spirituality.
Perhaps he expected the crowds to be out on the street, cheering him in. The Lord Yahweh won the great dual of the Gods, and Elijah would be cheered as he entered the city; the people would turn to the one true God.
But when he gets near, there is no change of heart of the people for Yahweh, not even a few placards. The great Mt Carmel miracle hadn't moved them. In fact, Elijah hears that Jezebel has vowed to kill Elijah by tomorrow.
Then Elijah does what I would probably have done; he moves from Faith to Fear.
He ran again; this time, he ran away, frightened and distraught, he ran into the wilderness. After all his best efforts, 1 Kings 19v3 says he is scared of Jezebel and ran. ON Carmel, he was joking and confident, doing God's work and seeing miracles. Now there are no miracles; it doesn't work out the way he expected he had moved from - Faith to Fear, then he moves from Fear to Despair.
Fear to Despair
Elijah heads for the mountains; he thinks his time as a prophet is over. Lord, I can't do this anymore. Note 1 Kings 19:3 he lets his servant go – why? Elizah did not have a servant because he is rich; he had a servant because he is a prophet and in v3 letting him go, he is saying, I can't do this anymore. I don't want this ministry anymore. He lets his servant go. He is in utter despair, emotionally, physically, spiritually low, and he says 19:4 I want to die. He isn't suicidal, he asks for the Lord to take his life, but he doesn't consider taking his own life. Many people say that to me in hospital 'I just want to die', but it is not suicidal; it is their honest response to trauma, stress, suffering.
A Patient said to me in the hospice, 'I am ready to die, I can't do this anymore, please Lord take me.' I just listened and felt a tear as I felt her pain. It was an honest statement. As we prayed and I anointed her with oil, the Lord ministered peace and renewed her strength.
Move from Despair to Prayer
If we take those burdens to the Lord and turn 'despair into prayer', the sovereign Lord will minister to us. Elijah was depressed, but he was not suicidal. He may be saying, take me home, Lord, but he doesn't consider taking his life.
What happens next is that God will minister to us in our depths of despair if we turn our despair into prayer. The temptation when we are low is to stay down, wallow in self-pity or look for self-help, drink, some other escapism… all of which will keep us down.
By turning despair into prayer. God ministers to Elijah's physical, mental and spiritual needs. Elijah is burnt out, and how does the Lord minister to him? 1Kings19:5 says he touches him (via an angel), then he feeds him, and he gives him rest. Then v7 He feeds him again and peps him up for a forty-day journey to Mt Horeb and an encounter with God. Despair to Prayer results in Elijah's physical needs being met. Food, touch, rest (a break from it all). Maybe God is saying to you, take a break, eat some good food, feel his embrace.
How great and gentle is our God. In prayer – God really listens even if we say some daft things in prayer! Elijah said some daft things; 19:10 'I've been zealous for you Lord.. now I'm the only one left'…. God listens, and in listening, God meets Elijah's emotional need to be heard, God listens.
God asks Elijah, 'what are you doing here?' Remember, God is all-knowing, so when he asks a question of Elijah, he is not looking for information. God is not saying to him, 'what's got into you, Elijah?' God wasn't surprised, 'What are you doing here, Elijah? I didn't expect to see you here in this cave!'
If God asks you a question, it is to give you information! God listens, 1 Kings 19:14 God asks, and God listens to his rant. 'I've been very zealous, my plan was good, but God messed up my plan. No one is left but me.'
God listens, and in listening, God meets Elijah's mental and emotional needs. We need to talk to express ourselves in prayer.
Eventually, God meets his spiritual need saying, now Elijah, you need to listen to me, you need to get back to my word. and he sets off for 40 days to Mount Horeb.
At the end of the journey, he is no longer burnt out. He is renewed!
Prayer to Renewal
What do you know about Mt Horeb? It is also known as Mt Sinai, where Moses received the 10 Commandments. What else?
13 Moses says, “show me your ways, that I may know you….” 20 God says, “you can't see my face 22 there is a cleft rock take cover, and you will see my back.”
— Exodus 33:13,20,22
Elijah goes to the same Mountain and possibly to the same cleft rock and waits for an encounter with God. After burn-out, the Lord ministers to his spiritual need with his still small voice, the word of grace. 1 Kings19:11 the Lord says, 'Go out and stand on the Mountain for the Lord is about to pass by then there was an earthquake wind and fire, but God was not in earthquake wind and fire. And the rock took the hit of that force of God; the rock, of course, speaks to us today of Jesus who took the judgement of God against the sin of the world on Good Friday. The rock shields Elijah. The rock is hit, Elijah is saved.
Seems like God was saying to Elijah, 'Mount Carmel was a spectacle but don't look for the spectacular.' Elijah thought big miracles would change the world, but they won't melt the hearts of the people in Jezreel or in your town. But the Lord's gentle still small voice, a word of grace will, Gods Holy Spirit working through his word will. When I am visiting on the hospital wards, we see that gentle still small voice of grace at work. A word comes to our hearts to share:
it may be a word of peace John 14:27 ‘my peace I give to you’, or a word of a burden lifted 'cast your cares on me.' a word of forgiveness, John 3:17 ‘Jesus did not come into the world to condemn but to save.’
When you want God to come in some spectacular way, pyrotechnics, lightning, or a whirlwind, watch out; he could come in a still, small voice. That voice could be in the bible - we need to be reading our bibles, the voice may be through you, an act of kindness, a phone call, an email, a card, a lift to the hospital, shopping or a word of comfort. It will whisper the love of Christ to your friends and neighbours more powerfully than a spectacular miracle.
Elijah was burnt out, and the Lord lovingly ministered to the practical; food, rest, touch, to the spiritual, saying listen to my voice. Have you felt burnt out or despair? Will you let God minister to you today? Some rest, some peace, food.
