Prepare your heart for this thought:
Are you Standing on the
Mountain?
or
Is the Mountain Standing on You?
1 Kings 19:10-18
(In this section of God's word we read
about God speaking to Elijah during a time when
Elijah felt fearful, a time when he felt as
though he was the only one left who still
believed in God. He felt alone and he felt
forsaken by those around him.)
In verse 11 God tells Elijah
to "Go stand on the mountain and as he stood
there the Lord passed by and a mighty windstorm
hit the mountain, it was such a terrible blast
that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was
not in the wind. After the wind, there was an
earthquake, but the Lord was not in the
earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was
a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And
after the fire there was the sound of a gentle
whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his
face in his scarf and went out and stood at the
entrance of the cave. And a voice said, "Why are
you here, Elijah?" And Elijah told the Lord his
complaints and how he felt fearful because all
the other prophets had been killed and now he
was running for his life because he knew that he
was the only prophet left.
In verse 15 Gods response to
Elijah was to first tell him to "Go back
by way of the desert road to Damascus, and then
he gave him instruction as to what he should do
when he got there. God does not want us to run
from our problems but he would rather have us
return with a solution to them after listening
to his word. After God had finished telling
Elijah what he wanted him to do, we read that
God then told Elijah in verse 18 " And
incidentally, there are 7,000 men in
Israel who have never bowed to Baal nor kissed
him!"
I love how God reminded him
that " O bye the way you don't know what I know
and you don't see what I see. In the midst of
your turmoil your judgment has been clouded and
you are not the only faithful one left!"
God needed to get Elijah's
attention in order to give him instruction on
what he needed to do next in his life.
Everything around Elijah was loud and confusing
and I'm sure his mind must have been full of
confusing fearful thoughts. If God had been loud
and confusing Elijah may have missed what God
wanted to tell him. God spoke to Elijah in a soft
voice and that is what got his attention because
it was different from everything else that
was going on around him. Elijah's world and his
heart were in an uproar and all he could see and
hear was scaring him. God used a gentle voice to
calm Elijah down.
Notice that Elijah did not
hear God in the midst of the windstorm, the
earthquake with falling rocks, or the fire. But
he did hear God in a whisper. You and I need to
remember that when our life gets loud and busy
and we seem to become fearful of what is going
on around us, we need to go to God and ask him
to speak to us so that we can hear what he has
to tell us.
In verse 11 Do you suppose
that God saying "Go stand on the mountain" could
be his way of telling us that he wants us to
stand up faithfully trusting him even when it
seems that the mountains of life and its
problems are crashing down on us?
OR
In verse 15 What about when
God said "Go back by way of the desert"? Do you
suppose that God would have us to realize that
some times he ask us to walk the desert of life.
The desert is a quiet place where we can hear
God in the silence and it is a place where we
must totally recognize our need for him in order
to survive.
Some times a busy, loud world
can make us forget our need to be alone and
dependent on God our creator and sustainer.
Are You Standing on the
Mountain??? or is the Mountain Standing on
You???
God puts the choice in your hands. This day
choose life or death. Standing on the mountain
brings fresh air and fresh perspective on life.
It is God's word that will refresh and renew you
daily. It is God's word that will allow you to
see things in a different light then what the
dark world has to offer.
Letting the mountain stand on you will crush
your hopes and dreams. You will be smothered by
your fears and you will not be able to breath
the breath of life that God has intended for you
to have .
As always, the choice is yours.
If your heart has been
touched, please feel free to email me at:
Jina@preparingyourheart.com
Thank you |
