The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord , for the Lord is about to pass by.” … – 1Kgs. 19:11 NIV
Standing To See God_1_11012021
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The Prophet Elijah had just heard a voice questioning what he was doing at the location where he was. This was after he had been fed on two previous occasions and told to continue the battle. That question was asked twice and Prophet Elijah gave the same response on the two occasions – 1Kgs. 19:6-9. The reaction of the Almighty God to his response on the first occasion when he was asked this question is the foundation scripture for today’s devotion, although it seems that by the second time, the Almighty God had had enough of the excuses of Prophet Elijah and promptly arranged for his replacement – 1Kgs. 19:13-18.
This is because from the moment he had started entertaining fear about the possibility of being killed by Jezebel, who had promised to revenge the killing of 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah (1Kgs. 19:1-4), the Almighty God had done everything to make him see His (God) own greatness rather than that of the enemy and further empowered him, but instead of running back toward the place he was required to use the empowerment, he instead ran farther away from that location – 1Kgs. 19:5-9.
In the attempt by the Almighty God to make him see His (God) own greatness, he gave him four instructions which will remain useful to the Christian today, who wishes to see the greatness of God in his/her battles and they are as follows;
- He told Elijah to go out of the cave where he was hiding. It will be impossible for you to see God in your situation if you remain in that your closet of fear. You will have to get out of the fear or get fear out of your presence else you will only continue to sink (Matt. 14:22-36), no matter how much effort is put in to save you from yourself. A scared person cannot see God’s hand in his/her situation as the fear covers the sight. Over come your fear and you are on the track to seeing him in that your situation. Halleluyah!
- He told Elijah to STAND. It is practically inconceivable that one who is in a battle will be seated or worse still lie down in sleep like Elijah did. Most people are idle but are expecting the intervention of the Lord in their situation. There is no miracle that will occur without you playing your part. All that will happen to one who has chosen to lie down in times of war is failure and sadness – Prov. 6:10-11; 24:33-34.
- He told Elijah to stand on the mountain. It is one thing to stand, it is another to stand in the right location. Attempts must be made to stand out in terms of efforts. Stand in a location where you can see all around you. That is why successful kingdoms build watch towers, so that they can sight the enemy from afar. To stand on the mountain is to be positioned in the Lord. Like the writer of the book of Proverbs said, the name of the Lord is a strong tower which the righteous runs into and is saved – Prov. 18:10. The Christian today may not need to stand on a physical rock again but has Jesus Christ on whom he/she can stand and see the glory of God.
- He told Elijah to stand in His presence. Finally you need to realise that to see God in your situation, you need to be in His presence at all times. The Bible says that all you will get if you successfully stand in His presence is the fullness of joy – Psa. 16:11. When you stand in His presence, you see only Him and no other. All your expectation of help will come only from Him and He in turn will not disappoint you – Psa. 121:1-3.
Elijah came out of the cave where he was lying down in and indeed stood, but was only at the entrance of the cave with his face covered. At that point all he could see was darkness as he had his face covered. There are equally several Christians today who indeed have come out of homes and environments with non-Christian foundations to take their position in the Christian community. They came to God seeking for one form of help and support or the other but the error is that they either have their faces covered with doctrines that will not open their eyes to the truth or they have chosen to see their inabilities or spiritual leaders rather than the Almighty God. They are indeed very regular in church but do not bring themselves to his presence. Rather, they see themselves in the presence of their spiritual leaders. Such will never be able to give testimony of the positive intervention of God in their situation. Come out today from that your spiritual cave and stand firmly in the presence of the Almighty God. Position yourself comfortably on the mountain of your salvation and you will definitely see Him in all your situation. May God strengthen you to be able to do so in Jesus name. Amen.
