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Background Story: Elijah was tired and ready to give up. He had stood alone against royalty, the Israelites, and the 450 prophets of Baal. In Chapter 19, God physically and emotionally feeds and strengthens Elijah and send him on to Mount Horeb (also known as Mount Sinai).
Read 1 Kings 19:8-19
8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
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.”
19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat.
Big Idea: Ask God for Christian community.
Elijah’s solitude and loneliness has taken his toll. As he encounters the living God in the cave of Horeb, he shares with God two times, “I am the only one left.” When I gave my life to Jesus as a teenager, I felt alone as well. I looked around at my school and didn’t see any other followers of Christ. It was hard to get up day and day and keep going without feeling the weight of discouragement. In that time, I began to ask God for Christian friends and pray that He would raise up others to stand with me for Him. And He did.
Elijah shared in intimacy with God his weariness, fear, and loneliness, and God brought helpers who could stand along side him in this journey. What’s amazing to note is that God didn’t call Elijah to go somewhere new. He said, “Go back the way you came” and right where Elijah lived, God raised up people to stand with him.
If you feel alone, discouraged, or like you are the only one… call out to your Father. In those intimate moments with Him, He will meet you right there in that space to comfort and encourage your heart. And He will provide brothers and sisters in Christ to walk alongside you in Christian community. We were not meant to do this journey alone. He is faithful and will bring others who can provide the support needed to fulfill the plans and purposes of God.
Go to Him and ask.
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