Fuel for Life, Part 5

Elijah’s encounter with God in 1 Kings 19 teaches us that while God can show up in dramatic moments, as seen in Elijah’s showdown with the prophets of Baal, He also reveals Himself in quiet, subtle ways. At Mt. Horeb, Elijah learned that God’s presence is not always found in the loud and spectacular, but sometimes in the still, small voice—a reminder that God is always near, even in the silence.

Battle Belongs
Phil Wickham

Firm Foundation (He Won’t)
Cody Carnes

Communion
Maverick City Music

The one thing that has the power to change your life, to change our culture, and to transform our world is an encounter with the living God.

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Ruth Haley Barton
“We cannot escape the fact that willingness to walk into empty places is a precursor to finding God.”

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1 Kings 17:1
And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the LORD God of Israel lives, Whom I have served, there shall be no rain or dew except by my word.”

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1 Kings 18:17-21
“When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, ‘Is that you, troubler of Israel?’ And he (Elijah) said, ‘I have not troubled Israel but rather you and your father’s house in your forsaking the LORD’s commands and going after the Baalim. And now, send out, gather for me all Israel at Mount Carmel, and the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” And Ahab sent out among all the Israelites and gathered the prophets at Mount Carmel. And Elijah approached all the people and said, ‘How long will you keep hopping between the two crevices? If it’s the LORD God, go follow Him, and if it’s Baal, go follow him. And the people answered him not a word.”

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1 Kings 19:1-4
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and all about how he killed all the prophets by the sword. And Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and even more, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the life of one of them.’ And he was afraid, and he arose and went off to save himself, and he came to Beersheba, which is Judah’s, and he left his servant there. And he had gone a day’s journey into the wilderness, and he came and sat under a certain broom-tree, and he wanted to die, and he said, “Enough now, LORD. Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”

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1 Kings 19:7-8
And the LORD’s messenger came back again and touched him and said, ‘Arise, eat, for your way is long.’ And, he rose and ate and drank and walked in the strength of that eating forty days and forty nights as far as the mountain of God, Horeb.

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1 Kings 19:9-10
And he came into a cave and spent the night there, and look, the word of the LORD came to him and said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah? And he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of Armies, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant–your altars they have destroyed, Your prophets they have killed by the sword, and I alone remain, and they have sought to take my life.”

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1 Kings 19:11-12
And He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD. And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.

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Iain Provan
“Somewhere between exaggerated self-loathing and exaggerated self-importance…there is a quiet place where Elijah must rest content with who he is and what he has done…The emphasis at Carmel had been on God’s spectacular ways and particularly on his use of fire. The emphasis [here], however, is upon God’s quiet ways. He is not to be found in the spectacular elements of the storm outside the cave. He reveals himself on this occasion in a gentle whisper. Elijah [needed] to realize that there is more to the LORD than fire.”

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1 Kings 19:13-18
And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, ‘I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Spaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

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Robert Sarah, The Power of Silence
“The desire to see God is what urges us to love solitude and silence. For silence is where God dwells. He drapes himself in silence. In every era, this experience of an interior life and an intimate loving relationship with God has remained indispensable for those who seek true happiness. …Followers of Jesus have been running off into the desert for thousands of years, ultimately, to find happiness in God.”

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