Many may well be familiar with that happening in the life of
Elijah, who, after his great victory over Ahab, king of Israel, and his prophets
of Baal at Mt. Carmel, fled in fear from the threats of Jezebel, Ahab's wife.
The fleeing had taken him to a hiding place in a cave on Mt. Sinai. He'd taken
up residence in that dark, gloomy place, and it was here the Father confronted
him.
I think all who truly live in and for the Lord, come to such times in their lives as Elijah did. The enemy of our souls will never lack for Ahab's and Jezebel's to send against us. His spiritual attacks against us will never decrease or cease. The temptation to find a cave, and live there, will at times be overwhelming, and many of us may well be yielding to that temptation even now. If you haven't, be aware, such a time will come upon you.
I think all who truly live in and for the Lord, come to such times in their lives as Elijah did. The enemy of our souls will never lack for Ahab's and Jezebel's to send against us. His spiritual attacks against us will never decrease or cease. The temptation to find a cave, and live there, will at times be overwhelming, and many of us may well be yielding to that temptation even now. If you haven't, be aware, such a time will come upon you.
When it does, what will be yours and my response? That God
wants to see us come out of the cave is undeniable, the question is, what must
happen in order for that to be the reality? This is where my friend saw
something in Him that he'd not seen before. Maybe you and I can see it as
well.
I think most of us, when we come to our own cave, cry out to Him to come there, and bring us out. We want Him to come, and take the discouragement, the defeated spirit, the desire to just give up, away from us. we want to change how we're feeling and what we're thinking. We want Him to make it better while we're still in the cave. Once He does that, we can come out, and we can get back to the "job" of following after and living in Him. It's here that we're stumbling, and the reason that so many of us remain in the cave, miserable and defeated because we are missing what He do deeply wants to do in our lives in times such as these.
When God came to Elijah, He asked him what he was doing in the cave? Obviously it was not a place that the Father expected to find him. His answer was basically, "I've served you faithfully and look what it's gotten me." That will always be the answer of the cavedweller because we have no other perspective but that of the cave. But notice what the Father does. He directs Elijah to come to the entrance of the cave, and it's there that He displays His glory before Him, and it's here that my friend discovered the secret that he'd been missing, that I think most of us are missing. The Father wasn't willing to change anything in Elijah's heart while he was living in the back of the cave and its darkness. It wasn't until he stepped to the entrance, where the Lord was, that it took place. It's a lesson we must learn. We always want Him to come to our "caves" and change what we're feeling in spite of ourselves. He won't. He'll call us to come out so we may behold Him, and lay hold of Him, as He reveals, again, or for the first time, who He truly is. He won't change us inwardly while we insist that He change what is happening outwardly. He will not give us new hope while we insist on staying in the depths of our cave. We have to follow the quiet, gentle sound of His voice to the place where we may meet Him. The place of His choosing, and not ours. Elijah was on Mt. Sinai, where Moses encountered the glory of God. Not in a cave, but on the mountain. Too many of us, as we climbed the mountain of God, in our discouragement and weariness, have found a cave to hide in, to live in. We wait for Him to come and get us out. He will not, but all the while, He stands at the entrance, calling us out to Himself, where we can behold Him anew, and receive power, life, hope, and strength, to continue the journey.
Does this writing find you and I to be a cavedweller, or a mountainclimber? We all want to see Him, but too often we choose to live in ways that keep us from seeing Him, and so, from others seeing Him in us. He stands at the entrance of the cave, the trouble, the heartache, the defeat, and calls us out....to Himself. Do we hear His voice? Will we come to Him there?
Blessings,
I think most of us, when we come to our own cave, cry out to Him to come there, and bring us out. We want Him to come, and take the discouragement, the defeated spirit, the desire to just give up, away from us. we want to change how we're feeling and what we're thinking. We want Him to make it better while we're still in the cave. Once He does that, we can come out, and we can get back to the "job" of following after and living in Him. It's here that we're stumbling, and the reason that so many of us remain in the cave, miserable and defeated because we are missing what He do deeply wants to do in our lives in times such as these.
When God came to Elijah, He asked him what he was doing in the cave? Obviously it was not a place that the Father expected to find him. His answer was basically, "I've served you faithfully and look what it's gotten me." That will always be the answer of the cavedweller because we have no other perspective but that of the cave. But notice what the Father does. He directs Elijah to come to the entrance of the cave, and it's there that He displays His glory before Him, and it's here that my friend discovered the secret that he'd been missing, that I think most of us are missing. The Father wasn't willing to change anything in Elijah's heart while he was living in the back of the cave and its darkness. It wasn't until he stepped to the entrance, where the Lord was, that it took place. It's a lesson we must learn. We always want Him to come to our "caves" and change what we're feeling in spite of ourselves. He won't. He'll call us to come out so we may behold Him, and lay hold of Him, as He reveals, again, or for the first time, who He truly is. He won't change us inwardly while we insist that He change what is happening outwardly. He will not give us new hope while we insist on staying in the depths of our cave. We have to follow the quiet, gentle sound of His voice to the place where we may meet Him. The place of His choosing, and not ours. Elijah was on Mt. Sinai, where Moses encountered the glory of God. Not in a cave, but on the mountain. Too many of us, as we climbed the mountain of God, in our discouragement and weariness, have found a cave to hide in, to live in. We wait for Him to come and get us out. He will not, but all the while, He stands at the entrance, calling us out to Himself, where we can behold Him anew, and receive power, life, hope, and strength, to continue the journey.
Does this writing find you and I to be a cavedweller, or a mountainclimber? We all want to see Him, but too often we choose to live in ways that keep us from seeing Him, and so, from others seeing Him in us. He stands at the entrance of the cave, the trouble, the heartache, the defeat, and calls us out....to Himself. Do we hear His voice? Will we come to Him there?
Blessings,
Pastor O
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