A WORD FOR TODAY, March 22, 2021
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion. If you received it from a friend, you can see other devotions and studies by visiting our website at www.awordfortoday.org.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, March 22, 2021
“Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. Let Israel now say that his loving kindness endures forever. Let the house of Aaron now say that his loving kindness endures forever. Now let those who fear Yahweh say that his loving kindness endures forever. Out of my distress, I called on Yah. Yah answered me with freedom. Yahweh is on my side. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Yahweh is on my side among those who help me. Therefore I will look in triumph at those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in man. It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in princes.” Psalm 118:1-9, WEB
“What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9, 13)
Last week’s story about Elijah continues this week. Elijah overcame the prophets of Baal and proved to God’s people that He is powerful and sovereign. The false gods are useless. The people fell on their faces and believed that God is the only God. Even Ahab was willing to listen. Once the false gods were defeated, Elijah then prayed for rain. God sent the rain that ended the drought. Despite witnessing God’s overwhelming power, Elijah was afraid. Ahab’s wife Jezebel was not present on the mountain, so she was not impressed. As a matter of fact, she was angry because Elijah had her prophets killed. She sent Elijah a note that said, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I don’t make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time!” She still thought the gods had power over life and death.
Elijah ran. He hid. He begged to die. He believed it would be better to die alone in the wilderness than at the hand of Jezebel. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt so alone? Have you ever been so depressed that you thought death was better than living in a dangerous and threatening world? Despite the incredible mountain top experience where he saw God’s power, where he participated in God’s power. Jezebel was just one woman. What could she possibly do to Elijah with God as His helper?
God sent an angel to encourage Elijah. The angel told him to rise and eat, so Elijah ate and drank. He was fortified to go on a forty day journey that ended at God’s mountain, Mt. Horeb. Then God asked today’s question of Elijah, “What are you doing here?” Elijah gave the LORD his sob story. “I did what you told me to do, but now I’m alone and afraid because they want to kill me.” He forgot that there were others that were still faithful. He forgot that God was more powerful than Jezebel.
There are many reasons why we get into bouts of depression. Certainly, depression can be a very real physical problem, a chemical imbalance in the brain that makes us feel as Elijah did. We can also feel like we’ve been abandoned by those who love and depend upon. We can be exhausted or malnourished. We can forget, like Elijah, that God’s steadfast love endures forever. These things magnify our troubles. They make us want to give up. Elijah’s incredible mountain top experience was exhausting. Then he ran. Then he got a threatening message from Ahab’s queen. It is no wonder he wanted to give up.
God did not let him. But God also wanted Elijah to experience His grace. God asked the question of Elijah when he was hiding in a cave on the mountain. “What are you doing here?” He asked. “I’m done.” “‘Go out, and stand on the mountain before Yahweh.’ Behold, Yahweh passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before Yahweh; but Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake; but Yahweh was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire passed; but Yahweh was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a still small voice. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle, went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave.” Then God asked Elijah the question again. “What are you doing here?”
Elijah gave exactly the same answer. But now Elijah could hear God’s answer to his complaints because he knew that he was in God’s presence. God could have encouraged him with his answer many times during his journey. He could have reminded Elijah that he was not alone under that tree in the desert. He could have reminded Elijah that there was still work today and sent him in a different direction. But God wanted Elijah to experience His presence in a different way. He’d already seen God in the fire and in the rain, but now Elijah knew God was in the still quiet whisper.
How often do we think God has abandoned us because we don’t experience Him in powerful ways? When we don’t see answers to our prayers? When everything seems to be going wrong around us? This story reminds us to stop and listen. God is calling us into His presence, to experience His grace in the still, quiet whisper. He hears our prayers and He answers them in His way, but we need to learn to trust in Him. There are some who claim that Psalm 118:9 is the center of the Bible. It might not truly work out that way in numbers, but the words are true and should be the center of our faith. “It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in princes.”
What are we doing here? God asks the same thing when we run from the world. He reminds us that it is in Him we can find refuge even while we face the troubles that plague us. Why can we trust in Him? We see in the stories like Elijah’s that God is powerful and sovereign, but most of all we see that His loving kindness endures forever. This is not just the love that we have for other people. This loving kindness is “hesed”; it is a Hebrew word that means love based on the covenant promises that God made with Him people. And He is faithful to all His promises.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org.
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Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion. If you received it from a friend, you can see other devotions and studies by visiting our website at www.awordfortoday.org.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, March 22, 2021
“Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. Let Israel now say that his loving kindness endures forever. Let the house of Aaron now say that his loving kindness endures forever. Now let those who fear Yahweh say that his loving kindness endures forever. Out of my distress, I called on Yah. Yah answered me with freedom. Yahweh is on my side. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Yahweh is on my side among those who help me. Therefore I will look in triumph at those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in man. It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in princes.” Psalm 118:1-9, WEB
“What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9)