1 Kings 19:9-18
At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’
He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces 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; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.’
Reflection
Have you ever faced a problem or a situation where you were at the end of yourself? You feel all alone and have exhausted every resource that you know of to help with the issue. You have done everything you could imagine to do and have finally turned to God. You have finally turned to God for direction because your own solutions are gone. And then... and then... you don't think that God is going to answer. You don't hear God's voice. All that you hear is noise and the sounds of the earth before you. You naturally fall silent in the presence of God.
I've been at this point in the past. I can remember sitting in the office at the Austin Road campus of Epiphany Lutheran Church and feeling just this feeling. I was at the end of myself and I was all alone with an issue I could not solve. All I could do was fall silent. In some ways Elijah was in this position too. He had done all that God had told him to do and his enemies were now seeking his life as well. Elijah was at the end of himself and needed to hear God's voice.
When in this position it's time to stop it all. It's time to stop and listen. And don't expect the answer to come just because you decided to stop and listen. God will direct you and it may not be what you expect or even what you desire. God will direct you and it may not be on the time table that you desire to have set. The silence can be overwhelming. The noise can be distracting. The rocks falling all around can seem like chaos and you may think that this is the end.
It's in these moments that you begin to realize just how much you need God to save you. You can't save yourself. You couldn't ever save yourself and thinking that you could is just plain sinful. So, you wait... you listen... you wait for salvation. You realize your need for a Savior. You realize the depth of what God has done for all people through Jesus. You realize that you are not in control. You realize that you are the created and not the Creator. You realize your place and you gladly seek to love and serve God with all of your heart and mind and strength. You really really want God.
At the end of yourself... that is just what you need. You NEED God. But first you must stop and listen. You must get over yourself and stop and listen. Listen to the Word. The Word made flesh in the Savior Jesus Christ. You get to the end of yourself and there is God! All in the silence of the Church... all in the silence of the opening of the cave... all in the still small voice comes the saving grace of God into yourself. All when you finally reach the end of yourself.
Thanks be to God!
Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbNK50T35wY
Prayer
Lord, you give me pause at the end of myself and I hear your great and awesome voice with power and glory and might through Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. I hear your voice through the whisper of the Holy Spirit. I hear your voice in the Mother the Father of all creation. I hear your voice at the end of myself... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen
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