Then He said, Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD. And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the 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 still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, What are you doing here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life. Then the LORD said to him: Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him. So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you. And he said to him, Go back again, for what have I done to you? So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen s equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. ELIJAH HAS MADE CLEAR TO GOD THAT HE FEELS LIKE HE HAS BEEN SHORT CHANGED! HE FEELS LIKE THINGS SHOULD JUST NOT HAVE TURNED OUT LIKE THIS! HE REVEALS THAT DEEP IN HIS HEART, AT LEAST RIGHT AT THIS TIME, HE FEELS FORSAKEN, ABANDONED AND LEFT ON HIS OWN. THE ANSWER HE GIVES TO GOD AS TO WHY HE IS THERE REVEALS A HEART THAT HAS TURNED INWARD AND FOCUSED ON SELF RATHER THAN A HEART THAT IS SEEKING GOD, ELIJAH REVEALS A HEART THAT CLAIMS EVERYONE AROUND HIM HAS FORSAKEN GOD AND HE HIMSELF IS THE ONLY ONE SERVING GOD NOW! BUT I WANT YOU TO SEE HERE THAT ELIJAH DOES NOT CONVINCE GOD TO BE A PART OF HIS SELFISH, GLOOMY PITY PARTY! IF YOU WAIT AND SEE IF GOD IS GOING TO ATTEND THAT KIND OF PARTY, YOU ARE GOING TO BE SADLY MISTAKEN PITY PARTY S ARE NEVER ON HIS AGENDA TO BE ATTENDED! NOTICE HOW ELIJAH IS ACTING, THE FEELINGS THAT ARE DOMINATING HIS LIFE IN THIS CAVE: HE IS ANGRY, BITTER, UPSET, COMPLAINING, STUBBORN, POUTING, JEALOUS, AND MOST OF ALL LIVING IN SELF PITY.
SELF-PITY CAUSES US TO DWELL ON THE NEGATIVE WHICH SPOILS OUR ENJOYMENT OF WHAT WE ONCE DID RECEIVE FROM GOD AND WHAT WE DO HAVE NOW BY THINKING ABOUT WHAT WE DO NOT HAVE! WE END UP HAVING A RESTRICTED VISION, DISTORTED VALUES, AND AN EXAGGERATED ESTIMATE OF OUR-SELF THIS IS THE CURSE OF SELF PITY: 1. SELF-PITY DESTROYS OUR HAPPINESS WITH GOD 2. SELF PITY DESTROYS OUR USEFULNESS FOR GOD 3. SELF PITY DESTROYS OUR UNION AND FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD by letting him know, I M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU YET! Then the LORD said to him: Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; I have some Kings that need to be anointed and I have your successor that you need to call to take your place! And besides that Elijah just for your information you are not the only one left! There are still 7,000 left of my prophets who have not bowed to Baal nor kissed his false image!, stop feeling sorry for yourself and start seeing that this journey I have placed you on isn t going to end here like this with you hiding in this cave, having a pity party and only feeling sorry for yourself! Elijah, your negative attitude has clouded your capacity, your ability to clearly see that I am in control here and now like I have always been! You can t see that I am the same God who called you and who has walked with you all these years- I never called you to come to this place as the end of your life s mission and journey for me! God was saying to Elijah: DON T GIVE UP ON YOURSELF BECAUSE GOD HASN T GIVEN UP ON YOU! DON T GIVE UP ON GOD BECAUSE GOD HAS NOT CHANGED WHO HE IS AND WHAT HE CAN DO! SHAKE OFF OF YOURSELF THOSE HEAVY CHAINS OF DESPONDENCY, INDIFFERENCE, and THE THINKING- WOE IS ME
that s why the scripture refers to us as SHEEP, we never like to experience anything alone and perish the thought of doing something else while others are going in a different direction. Our inborn nature is to always be following someone or something! We live in a culture where everyone has to follow the latest trend or we are made to feel like we are out of touch with what is happening!
Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You re not in the driver s seat; I am. Don t run from suffering; embrace it. and I ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for? LAUGHTER IS CONTAGIOUS FEAR IS CONTAGIOUS NERVOUSNESS IS CONTAGIOUS SHAME CAN BE CONTAGIOUS WEEPING IS CONTAGIOUS JOY IS CONTAGIOUS A POSITIVE ATTITUDE AND A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE ARE BOTH CONTAGIOUS ENTHUSIASM AND EXCITEMENT IS CONTAGIOUS FASHION, STYLES, OR TRENDS ARE HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS
The doctor came into her room and informed her: "Yes, the skunk had a bad case of rabies, and rabies is a highly contagious disease. You are now infected with rabies." The doctor told her that rabies was deadly, and there was no cure. She would die a terrible death. She would go crazy and foam at the mouth, then her fever would rise and she would die. The lady grabbed the doctor's clip board and pen. Then she started writing with great speed. The doctor asked, "Are you writing your last will? The lady said, "No, I'm writing a list of people I'm planning on biting!" 20 TIMES, IN FACT, IN THE GOSPELS HE SAYS TO PEOPLE FOLLOW ME BUT NEVER DOES HE SAY WORSHIP ME! YOU SEE MOST PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO WORSHIP HIM BUT FEARFUL OF FOLLOWING