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And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that
meat 40 days and 40 nights unto Horeb, the Mount of God. And he came
thither unto a cave and lodged there; and, behold, the Word of the Lord
came to him, and he said unto him, “What does thou here, Elijah?” I
Kings 19:8-9
There is many a chosen servant of God today sitting in a cave of self-pity and despondency, hugging his grievances to his bosom, when he should be carrying on mighty exploits for God in the front line of the battle. Such was the case with Elijah of old at one time in his ministry. He had been carried by God’s hand to Mount Horeb, the Mount of God, where God had revealed Himself to Moses to be the “I AM.” Here was a fitting place for him to cry, “Lord, You spoke to Moses in this place and revealed your plans and purposes unto him. Now I am baffled and confused, and I don’t know what to do. Speak also to me, Lord, Show me the next step.”
But what did he do? “He came thither unto a cave and lodged there.” And he meant to stay there! That this isn’t an insignificant detail is proved by the verses that follow, showing that though the Word of the Lord came to Elijah, it couldn’t dislodge him from his position in the cave.
Elijah was weary from his work and profoundly disappointed by what he hastily concluded to be its failure, and, in a fit of faithless despondency, he forgot reverence, submission and obedience. He was deep in a cave of self-pity and self-righteousness. “I, even I only am left,” was his complaint to the Lord. Besides, outward events had appeared to him enigmatical; and his inward thoughts were confused and painful.
The devil’s business It’s the devil’s business to get front-line workers into a cave, shut up in themselves ere they’re of no use to God and no joy to others. Child of God, never pity yourself, pity others. When you begin to pity yourself and complain against other people, you may be certain that you’re out of touch with your Lord and Satan has you stuck in a cave alone with yourself. Are you in a cave today? Are you brooding over some past failure, inwardly blaming God as well as your fellow workers? Are you discouraged and downhearted, caught in a fit of frustration? If so, you’re in a cave, and God wants to bring you out, just as He brought out His servant long ago.
This is copyrighted material from James Stewart's book Come O Breath!, available from Revival Literature, PO Box 6068, Asheville, NC 28816.
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