Key Verse: 1 Kings 19:1-18, "Now Ahab
told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with
the sword. 2 So
Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it
ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of
them.”3 Elijah
was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he
himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and
prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he
lay down under the bush and fell asleep.All at once an angel touched him and
said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He
looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a
jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.7 The angel of the Lord came back a
second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too
much for you.” 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.”
Have you ever tried to hide from or avoid somebody? Maybe you went the long way around the school to avoid someone on a particular hallway. Maybe somebody is always picking at you...that annoying guy who likes to see how hard he can punch people or the girl who always has some biting comment. Maybe it's even a parent; you try to stay out of the house or in your room, keeping contact to a minimum. Something happened to create tension, and now it feels like a shadow, constantly lurking under your feet and around every corner. It's miserable.
Read 1 Kings 19:1-18. By taking a stand for God against Jezebel's false prophets, Elijah had become the focus of the queen's wrath. Here, Elijah was on the run and miserable. Repeatedly, he reminded God that he always tried to do the right thing and stood up tor God's truth, but now he felt lonely and worn out. Nobody seemed to want anything to do with Elijah or God, so he started to withdraw. He tried to sleep away his rejection. He hid away in a cave. He felt as if he was the only one who cared.
But Elijah was not alone, and neither are you. God called him out of hiding. No, the world is not going to welcome you and your message with open arms. Actually, the world will resist and may even attack you and the gospel for which you live. But you can't just run away and hide. No matter what you feel like, God will not let anything overwhelm you. There are other believers out there, too.
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