40 Days of Purpose Preview
What on Earth Am I Here For?
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Saturday, September 27, 2003
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, as we draw to the end of our study of Elijah’s life, I ask you to write the truth of his experiences on my heart and mind that I may draw from them in my own life, and share them with others. I pray that as Elijah trusted You to do miracles, that I would as well. I pray that as Elijah weakened and then turned back to You, that in every moment of weakness, I would quickly turn to you for renewed life and hope. I pray that You will so fill me with the Holy Spirit that all that I am, all that I think, all that I say and all that I do will glorify you and build up Your kingdom. All these things I pray in the strong name of Jesus, my risen Lord. Amen.
Bible Verses
1 Kings 19:9b-18
But the LORD said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the LORD God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I alone am left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.” 11“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the LORD told him. And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. 13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14He replied again, “I have zealously served the LORD God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I alone am left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
15Then the LORD told him, “Go back the way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram. 16Then anoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah to replace you as my prophet. 17Anyone who escapes from Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu will be killed by Elisha! 18Yet I will preserve seven thousand others in Israel who have never bowed to Baal or kissed him!”Reflecting on Elijah's Life
How do you think Elijah felt after God’s tremendous display of power and after He spoke directly to him?
Digging Deeper for Spiritual Growth!
Why do you suppose that God asked Elijah, “Why are you here?” twice?
What is the point of God giving Elijah so many commands immediately following the tremendous display His power?
Understanding How I Can Learn and Grow from Elijah's Life
What does the angel’s provision for Elijah in his “trial time” tell you about God’s provision in your life?
What is the clearest way God has ever provided for you in your life?
Just Do It!
Elijah was done. He’d had it. He served boldly, confidently and faithfully. What did it get him? A death promise from Queen Jezebel. Never mind that God had used Elijah to stop the rain (couldn’t we use that around here—occasionally!), to destroy the pagan prophets of Baal—and to demonstrate once and for all that God was, indeed, God in Israel. Elijah’s great victories were forgotten in a moment of extreme doubt, pessimism and even the desire to have God put him out of his misery. We may wonder, “What misery? If God ‘showed up’ in our lives the way He showed up in Elijah’s life, we’d never waver or doubt!” Really? Have we not seen the great hand of God in our lives in so many ways? I’ve witnessed enough miracles in my life, that I ought never to doubt His power to do whatever He desires. Yet there are times when I get tired, when I want to just go home and be with Jesus. The reality of being human is that despite all that God is and all that God does, we still have bouts with doubt, bouts with “PLOM” disease—poor, little, old me. Why? Many answers could be offered, but two that come quickly to mind are: 1) we simply have short memories, and we want God’s presence to be powerfully demonstrated ALL the time, and 2) Satan doesn’t want us to win. Satan suffered a major defeat when Elijah showed the nation of Israel that the LORD was God in Israel and not Baal and Asherah. As long as Israel was worship idols, and believing that they were the source of fertile crops and healthy herds and flocks, then they would not worship the living God. Satan will always try to get us to worship creation rather than the Creator. He will always try to distract us from the Good News, by putting gold, glitter and other ungodly temptations before us. Elijah was just about ready to quit, but a forty day fast and a forty day journey, prepared Elijah to hear God’s voice once again. When God asked, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah had an answer. It was full of defensiveness and self-pity, but he had an answer. God immediately showed Elijah that he was there, because he had forgotten who he was and whose he was. God’s great display of power on Mount Sinai was valuable to reintroduce Elijah to what God can do, but the still, small voice of God was the real blessing on that mountain. Elijah regained his identity and purpose. He was sent out again to minister and to share the truth of the God he loves. In one week, we will enter our 40 day journey—our 40 Days of Purpose. Whether we are sure of God’s role in our lives, or whether we are filled with doubt, God is going to show up and bless us. He will question our attitudes and motives, but most of all He will assure as that we were created for His pleasure and purpose, that we are worthwhile, because we are His! Please participate in as much of the 40 Days of Purpose as you can. Be in worship, become part of a LIFE group, and read the Purpose Driven Life daily readings. As we do that we will regain our grounding in God. We will hear His voice and we will know that our lives are rooted and ground in Him. Why are we doing here? God knows. Do we?
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