Mountain Voice

1 Kings 19:8-12 NKJV

So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. [9] And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" [10] So he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life." [11] Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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; [12] and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

This episode has always fascinated me. How Elijah had become so depressed after the great victory on Mount Carmel.

Because of the fear of Jezebel's threats he had run for his life (you can read this in chapter 19).

Exhausted from the fierce spiritual battle, Elijah had run out of steam: physically, emotionally and in his spirit.

The Lord knew this and so gave him rest and food to build him up.

When he's fully rested, hidden in a cave on Mt Horeb, only then the Lord asks: "What are you doing here Elijah?" "How come you ran away?"

Then the wind, earthquake and fire demonstration - none of which the Lord was in.

These powerful destructive forces are awesome and terrifying, but, in spite of all that devastation, God is still speaking in that quiet inner voice.

Elijah had come to end of his earthly journey and the Lord showed him that he wasn't, as he had mistakenly thought, the only prophet left.

His anointing was to be passed on to other more vigorous persons who would carry on the Lord's work.

Elijah, say some commentators, had fallen prey to self pity and self-aggrandisement - perhaps even had a nervous breakdown?

The Lord knows each one of us so well and has gone before us to share the burden with others.

That still small voice speaks to us personally in our spiritual mountain cave.

Don't get too depressed by catastrophic events. No matter how the enemy tries to destroy or block out God's Word, it is ever speaking for those whose ears are listening.