I Kings 19:9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" Following a most dramatic display of God's power over the 450 prophets of Baal, Elijah runs because king Ahab's wife, Jezebel, has threatened to kill him. Let's see, God tells Elijah what to say to the prophets of Baal and shows Elijah His unequaled power by devouring them in fire and an angry woman makes this man of God run and hide in a cave? What is the deal?
.
It turns out, I'm not that much different than Elijah when it comes to running an hiding. Let me give into the temptation of lust and you'll see me scramble. Let me be treated rudely by some arrogant people and my resulting irritation finds me sprinting to my own cave. When I want to have a pity party, you'll see me dash by like an Olympic champion. I suspect that many others can relate to me in these few examples I'm sharing here.
.
But, here's the thing, my sin always causes me to run away from God and not towards Him. I desperately look for a place to hide so I can deal with my shame in private. Yet, it is as though I am an alcoholic sitting in a bar and then God approaches me and asks, "What are you doing here, Kenneth?" Rather than let me try to fix it on my own, the Father of creation comes in and in essence says , "You do not belong here, let's go." As His child, I find myself sometimes in places I ought not to be and so I hide hoping He'll let me wallow by myself for a while, but He never does. I'm His child, and He will never abandon me and when He comes to me, His question causes me to see where I am and to remember where I am supposed to be.
.
"What are you doing here, Kenneth?" Father, I don't know. I only know I should not be here. I should be in your presence, but I chose to focus on something else and messed up big time. So I ran and thankfully You have come to me to bring me to my senses and draw me out of my hiding place. Keep asking me Lord, until I finally grow up and refuse to be found in places I should not be because I am a child of God.
