September 2023
His Voice, Not Your Voice
Kings 19:11-12
11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks 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.
1 Kings 18:21-24
21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:
24 And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
Glory to God. Earlier this year, we discussed being still before the Lord and listening for His still small voice. As I was reading the text, the Holy Spirit centered on the 11th verse of 1 Kings 19. In this verse, He told the prophet Elijah, “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.” Elijah was a great prophet of the Lord, however he found himself in a place where his faith was shaken because Jezebel who had already killed other prophets was now threatening his life. Elijah took His eyes off the Lord and focused on the words against his life. Maybe it was because this threat had been successful before in killing and attacking the people of God-and God didn’t stop it. Fear overtook Elijah and it seems He may have thought if God didn’t stop the attack with others, maybe this was his portion too.
But there is always a certain man and a certain woman with God who can touch the helm of His garment. When God showed up, His first words to Elijah were to move him back to faith. He said, “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.” You see, this wasn’t the first time Elijah stood before the mount of the Lord. The Lord was reminding him of his faith in 1 Kings 18 where he was strong in faith and this too was during the time Jezebel was killing prophets of God, but she had not focused on Elijah. At the mount of Carmel, Elijah boldly confessed, “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.” He told the people, “call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answers by fire, let him be God.”
At that time, Elijah was so strong in faith nothing could shake him; yet, at another stage in life he failed to follow what He told the people-“I will call on the name of the Lord.” He allowed the fear of Jezebel to scare him so badly he forgot to go and stand before the mountain of God, call on the name of the Lord, and hear what His still voice was speaking to him for this moment. He found himself in a position where he was between two opinions and he wasn’t following God, but being lead by fear.
Be cautious of your decisions when fear is present. You have to listen for the still small voice of the Lord for your life. Some He may instruct to do this, and others He may instruct to do that-but you better be sure it’s His voice you’re following and not your own. If fear is present in any form, the voices of fear can lead us into trouble that is hard to get overcome, yet God is merciful.