#DailyDevotion Don’t Seek God In The Miraculous. You Have His Word.

1 Kings 19:11-18 ¹¹“Go out,” He said, “and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” Then, as the LORD was passing by, a great and mighty wind was tearing mountains and shattering rocks ahead of the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake, but the LORD wasn’t in the earthquake. ¹²After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD wasn’t in the fire. And after the fire there was a gentle, quiet Voice. ¹³When Elijah heard that, he wrapped his face in his coat, went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then the Voice spoke to him saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁴“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of armies,” he answered, “because Israel has forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. Now I’m the only one left, and they’re trying to kill me.” ¹⁵“Make your way back to the wilderness near Damascus,” the LORD told him, “and when you come there, anoint Hazael as king of Aram (Syria], ¹⁶anoint Jehu, Nimshi’s son, as king of Israel, and Elisha, Shaphat’s son of Abel-meholah, as prophet in your place. ¹⁷If anyone escapes from Hazael’s sword, Jehu will kill him, and if anyone escapes from Jehu’s sword, Elisha will kill him. ¹⁸But I will leave in Israel 7,000, none of whom have knelt before Baal, none of whom have kissed him.”

Elijah is an interesting prophet. He is the first prophet since Moses that we see doing miraculous things. I sometime think that is why he is with Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration. Speaking of miraculous things Elijah is on the run after having the LORD manifest himself in a column of fire on a drenched sacrificial offering showing that he is the one true God and there is no other and then slaughtering all the prophets of Baal that Jezebel had. He’s on the run because Jezebel threatened his life. Of course we’re all, “Really? You’re on the run because Jezebel threatened you? Didn’t the LORD just manifest himself to you and Israel through the sacrifice?” Well, that’s how the saints of God are sometimes. One moment we’re slaughtering Israel’s enemies in the power of YHWH and writing Holy Spirit inspired psalms and the next moment we committing adultery and murder to cover that up. So Elijah is on the run.

There are all sorts of ideas about what is going on here. Why does God send the fire, the wind, and earthquake and is not in them but the still small voice? I’m sure a lot of the commentaries are probably correct in some form or another. I think it is because God doesn’t want us looking for him the miraculous. I also think he doesn’t want us waiting around for some inner voice for revelation of his will. What does Jesus say? “Blessed are those who believed but did not see.” We are called to believe in the Word of God. Nothing fancy, nothing miraculous, just the plain old Word of God and the continuing witness of Jesus’ apostles.

Now in today’s environment, we may at times feel we are the only Christians left in the world like Elijah thinks he is the only believer in Israel left. The LORD assures him he is not alone. He has preserved 7,00 in Israel that have not bowed the knee to Baal. Our LORD Jesus Christ preserves his believers and provides for the continuation of the faith even as he did for Elijah. We are more than we think at times and the LORD will encourage and strengthen us through the Word and the fellowship of whatever believers we may find.

Heavenly Father, open our ears to hear your Word when we hear it preached, read it and converse with it so we may be encouraged by it and have our faith strengthened by it. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.