Common Sense Reborn

What are you doing here?

¹¹“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah 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. ¹²And 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. ¹³When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:11-13)

Good afternoon fam! We are reading through the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament for my neighborhood Bible Study, and I came to perhaps one of my favorite passages in the Old Testament: the story of God speaking to the great prophet Elijah on the mountain. Elijah had fled Jezebel to the mountain where he waited to die and God speaks to Elijah, telling him to stand at the mouth of the cave. Elijah witnesses the mighty power of God in three awe-inspiring miracles: a mighty windstorm, an earthquake, and a fire. While those were incredible to witness, God was not in any of those natural spectacles. God came to Elijah in a “gentle whisper”. There is a lot to unpack in these three verses.

For one, while some may blame God for natural disasters, this passage shows that God is not in any of the ones Elijah encounters. Much like how God does not control His greatest creation (people), perhaps He is not in control of every natural disaster that befalls the world. Perhaps it is just a reaction of His creation. My former home of Bradenton/Sarasota, as well as my current home of Richmond Hill, GA are dealing with catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Debby. In Florida, the flooding came from rising rivers and a failure of the Manatee County Dam. In Richmond Hill, the flooding came when the Ogeechee River reached historic flood levels, over-flowed into the watershed and backed up the sewers. The city of Richmond Hill could not pump out the water fast enough and a slow rise of sewer water flooded about 125 homes, bringing complete ruin to these structures as they were inundated with not just water, but contaminated water. One of those families is a newly hired officer for our department (Savannah PD) and everything on his bottom floor is a total loss. Samaritan’s Purse is in both of these areas beginning reconstruction work. If you are able to make a financial disaster, please click here and donate to the amazing work SP does for victims of natural disasters.

The second truth to extract from Elijah’s story is best summed up by Pastor Steven Furtick. The clip below comes from Tauren Wells 2019 album “Citizen of Heaven“. Click the image below to hear this thirty second snip-it of a Pastor Furtick sermon.

Pastor Furtick reasons that God whispered because He is close. He is always close. He is always present. And He is always asking, “What are you doing here?”

What are you doing here, seeping in your own sin? What are you doing here, struggling with self-doubt, depression, anxiety? What are you doing here, not thriving in this world, not accepting His unending grace and mercy, not forgiving yourself? What are you doing here, allowing the devil to control this wonderful world God has given you? What are you doing here, waiting for the end, when God has given you all authority to trample the enemy?

He is whispering to you to get out of your cave. Step into your purpose as a chosen Child of God. Stop letting the storms of your life trap you in a cave. Step out in full confidence that God is always with you. God is always close. God will lead you into your destiny of being a compassionate, merciful, loving disciple of His beloved Son. Leave your cloak of shame in the cave and live your life boldly, full of wind and fire.