I Kings 19.9-10
“There Elijah came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the 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.”
This passage is rich with meaning. The cave is symbolic of the spiritual and emotional state in which Elijah was stuck. He was imprisoned in an emotional cave of his own making.
When the Lord asked — “What are you doing here, Elijah?” — it was a question not just about Elijah’s physical location, but also a question about his spiritual and emotional condition.
The Lord asks us the same question when we allow ourselves to get stuck in a cave of self-pity and negativity. When you are caught in the grip of negative thinking, press pause and listen for the voice of the Lord. You will hear Him asking, “What are you doing in this emotional place? This is not what I saved you for. You don’t belong here.”
Elijah’s response to the Lord’s question reveals the self-oriented thinking that had gripped his heart. Read again what Elijah says in verse 10:
“I have been very jealous for the Lord, the 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.”
What is the primary subject of Elijah’s response? Self. What is the tone? Negative. This is classic “Why are all these bad things happening to me? Why me? Woe is me!”
If Elijah had been as “jealous for the Lord” as he claimed to be, he would have passionately prayed for guidance and wisdom in how to respond to the continued disobedience of the people of Israel. He also would have prayed for the strength to stand against Jezebel, as she was the source of the idolatry that was infecting the people. Jezebel was the threat.
But Elijah was fixated on how Jezebel was affecting him; he did not think about how Jezebel was affecting the people of Israel.
As followers of Christ, we must win the battle against self-centeredness. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,” Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, “but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”
There it is again. It’s about the mindset we bring to whatever situation we are dealing with. We are called to develop a mindset that is definitively Christo-centric. We are to think about and consider the interests of others. We are called to have the mind of Christ in all that we do.
Trust God. Renew your mind. Pay attention to what you pay attention to. Do the inner work. Get Your Mind Right. Especially in response to difficult things.
“Do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” (1 Corinthians 14.20)
The Lord is calling.
