“What Are You Doing Here?”
All of us have questions we would like to ask God. Such as: “Why am I here?” “Where were You?” “What good is it?” We might be surprised that God has some questions for us.
For the next few weeks, I will be preaching a series of sermons about these questions from God. The first one, “What are you doing here?” was asked of the prophet Elijah. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah was on the run from the idolatrous Queen Jezebel of Israel. Elijah had just killed the prophets of Baal. When Jezebel heard of it, she sent a message to Elijah saying:
“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.” 1 Kings 19:2
Elijah had traveled 40 days and 40 nights to a cave on Mount Horeb. This mountain was also known as Mount Sainai and the Mountain of God. It was where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. This is where God had His question for Elijah.
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
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.”
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. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 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?” 1 Kings 19:9-13
Then God explains that He will take care of those who have rejected God and are trying to kill Elijah. God also tells Elijah:
Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him. 1 Kings 19:18
When we are discouraged and find ourselves in a cave of despair, God will come to us with the question: “What are you doing here?” In other words: “Has your world really fallen apart?” “Is there really no hope for you?”
God asks us questions to get our attention. And when we finally step out the door of our cave of despair, God will give us the answer to His questions. God will remind us that He is still holding our lives together and that all is not lost.
In Christ,
Pastor David
