Before we attempt to provide an answer to our question, let us take a moment, look at the Scripture, and gather a history of the situation. In preceding chapter, Elijah has rebuked the evil king Ahab and has had a contest with the evil prophets, wins the contest, and has the evil prophets slain. Jezebel, wife of Ahab and one of the evilest women in the Bible, was angered due to the death of her prophets, since they revealed to her all that she wanted to hear, forecasting her future might and grandeur. Elijah had been a steady thorn to Jezebel since he was foreseeing their misery and judgment.
Now in the first part of chapter nineteen, Elijah encountered the pains of weakness and debilitation soon after these two incredible spiritual triumphs: the loss of the prophets of Baal and the addressed petition for rain. Regularly debilitation sets in after incredible spiritual encounters, particularly those requiring actual exertion or delivering emotional energy. But what is Elijah’s state of mind? Why does Elijah feel this way?
Maybe he expected a different reaction from Jezebel and Ahab. Elijah expected God to act in a certain way, and that his faith was based upon his knowledge of God, not on God Himself. We see the fear of Elijah, which is evident in the flight of Elijah. Fear had gripped his heart, so he fled. Elijah was overworked, overwrought, and over-worried.
We see Elijah become despondent, he wants to die, yet he runs away because he is afraid to die. He asks the Lord to take his life. His attitude had become the “I quit; I give up.” How many of us have felt like this and cry out, what is the use? (Job 3:20-21; Jeremiah 20:14)
We may expect God to act in a certain way. But when He does not move like we think that He should, our faith hits the bottom. . . oh woe is me. A Christian is to be completely fearless, continually cheerful, and constantly in trouble. We can become illogical when we turn from faith to fear. Self-pity sets in. Self-pity is the result of having fallen from faith to self-trust, and self-trust results in self-pity. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
To lead him out of his depression, God let Elijah rest and eat. God takes care of the physical as well as the spiritual. Elijah needs rest and resuscitation, then he was strengthened for the next part of his journey. Then God reminded him of the need to get back to his central goal, to proclaim God's Word in Israel. Elijah's fights were not completed; he still had work to do. (Exodus 24:18; Deuteronomy 9:9; Matthew 4:2) There is something about fasting and prayer that is important for us, but that is a different topic.
Whenever we feel let down after an incredible spiritual encounter, we should recollect that God's motivation for our life is not yet finished.
Next, we see that Elijah comes to a cave. He is sitting in a cave and then the Lord wants to know what he is doing there. Elijah proceeds to tell the Lord what all the Israelites have done or have not done. He thought he was the only one left that was serving God. He had forgotten that there were others who had remained true to the Lord during the time that Israel was wicked.
There are times that we get like that. We question if we are in the right place that we should be in. We know we are supposed to be serving the Lord, but we doubt if it is making any difference. We question if we are in the way of our duty or is there someone or something hindering us. Are we where we should be and are we doing what we should be doing? (Romans 11:2-3)
Through all of the noise of the great wind, the rocks being broken apart, the earthquake, and the fire, a still small voice could be heard. (Exodus 3:2; Deuteronomy 4:11; Job 4:16; Ezekiel 1:4) Elijah realized that the still small voice was God's. He understood that God does not generally uncover Himself in just the amazing, phenomenal ways. To search for God in something important (rallies, big tent revival meetings, churches, or influential leaders), we might miss Him since He is regularly observed to be delicately murmuring in the quietness of a heart that is humbled.
Are we truly listening for God’s voice? We should take a moment to move away from the commotion and the action of our bustling lives and listen submissively and discreetly for His direction. It might come when we do not realize that it is there. As we are listening for that still small voice, we just might realize that God moves in quiet ways as well. What type of voice does God need to use to get our attention?
Does God need to be loud and boisterous? Does God need to scream at us? That would not be such a terrible thing for some Christians, is to hear God yelling at them to get them to move. Or does God just need to whisper or speak in a soft voice to get our attention? I would venture to say that for some Christians to be able to hear God, they need to turn down the volume of everything else that is going on in their lives. Maybe there is so much going on that some Christians cannot recognize His voice. Maybe they just do not want to hear Him because they are trying to avoid Him (that’s conviction).
Maybe that is what many of us need to learn regarding that still small voice. There are a couple of old hymnal songs:
Church Hymnal, page 161, “Jesus Is Calling”
Jesus is tenderly calling thee home, calling today, calling today.
Why from the sunshine of love wilt thou roam, farther and farther away.
Calling today, calling today. Jesus is calling. He is tenderly calling today.
Church Hymnal, page 385, “Softly and Tenderly”
Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling.
Calling for you and for me.
See on the portals He is waiting and watching.
Watching for you and for me.
Come home, come home, ye who are weary come home.
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home.
We should take time and remove ourselves from our daily grind, get alone in a quiet place, and listen to God speak to us. He should not have to yell for us to be able to hear Him speak.
