Go, Stand on a Mountain

Elijah was having a bad day; a bad several days, as a matter of fact. After perhaps his greatest victory, in which he won a major contest over the prophets of Baal and the Asherah (1 Kings 18:20-40) and prayed that a three and one half year drought would end that stands still today as an example of the prayer of faith (1 Kings 18:41-45; James 5:17, 18), he was running for his life. The queen had promised to kill him within twenty-four hours. You see, those were her prophets of Baal and the Asherah and she was none too happy that Elijah had killed them! So, he ran.

First, he ran over one hundred miles to Beersheba, which is in the southern part of Judah. He left his servant there and went another day’s journey into the wilderness. He ran a long way to get away from Queen Jezebel. After eating food provided by an angel, Elijah wound up at Mount Horeb (Sinai), which was another 150 miles from Beersheba. And there he hid in a cave.
It was in that cave that God came to him and asked him what he was doing there. It was a fair question. Elijah’s ministry was over two hundred miles away and when you travel by foot, that is a long way to commute. And not only that, but Elijah did not really have a good reason to fear. God had just shown him that He could handle a challenge. If He could defeat the god Baal and his prophets, He should be able to handle a threat from Jezebel. Elijah gives us a great example of what happens when we start walking by sight and not by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7).
God’s counsel to Elijah is something we should take to heart. Elijah poured his heart out to God and explained that he was the only one left in all Israel who was faithful to God (he thought). He did not see any reason to continue. He had already prayed to be allowed to die. God told him, “Go, stand on the mountain!” Actually, His words were: “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord” (1 Kings 19:11). You see, it was not the mountain; it was the “before the Lord” part that was important.

Scripture says the Lord was passing by when Elijah stood on the mountain. That would be impressive to anyone, even to someone who had seen what Elijah had already seen. Now, here is where we need to pay close attention. The Lord was passing by Elijah on that mountain. There was a great and strong wind; so great and strong that the rocks on the mountain were being broken, but God was not in the wind. Then, there was an earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but God was not in the fire, either. After the fire there was a “still, small voice” (KJV). It was in this still, small voice where God could be found.

Very often when things go wrong in our lives, we want a great, big sign from God that He still loves us. When we feel threatened, we may be tempted to believe that God has abandoned us. I have heard enough people tell me they felt He had left them to know that this is a real temptation. And so, we look for God in a mighty wind, or an earthquake, or a fire, but He is not there. His voice speaks to us from the gentle blowing of His Word that He has already given us. Before the calamity that you and I deal with ever happened, He had already given us what we needed to be able to endure it.

That still small Voice speaks to you and me today and says, “Trust in the Lord and do good” no matter what happens (Psalm 37:1-3). It says that no matter how bad things get we can still say, “I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:16-19). It says that nothing can ever be so bad that the temptation to leave my Lord will be greater than I can bear, but that God Himself will provide a way of escape for me (1 Corinthians 10:13). Do not be discouraged! Look for God in the “gentle blowing” and hear His still, small Voice in His Word. It is speaking to you now! God loves you and so do I.

Donnie Bates