traceyleslie

What Are You Doing Here?

Posted on May 4, 2014

Over the last several weeks I’ve been reading a book called “Questions God Asks Us” by Trevor Hudson.  (I’ll be leading a small group study on the book during Castleton UMC’s Midweek Connection starting this Wednesday at 6:30.)  http://castletonumc.org/midweek-connection/

I love this book because it invites us to consider the bible not so much as an “answer book,” but as questions from God that challenge us to reflect on how we live our lives.  One of the questions Hudson focuses on is God’s question to Elijah in 1 Kings, chapter 19.

To make a long story short, Elijah runs off to Mt. Horeb because he’s angry and frustrated and discouraged.  He’d just had this “mountaintop ministry experience” and yet when the evil Queen Jezebel sends her posse to track down Elijah, Elijah feels totally alone and totally defeated.  And so, as Elijah sits on the mountain depressed and disillusioned, God poses the question, “What are you doing here?”  The answer Elijah gives is pretty whiney and pathetic.  But, I have to confess, I can relate.  It seems like, no matter how many incredible blessings God gives us, we always seem to focus on our failures and disappoints.  It’s easy to forget what goes well; but so hard to remember the victories and blessings God gives us.

One of the funniest (OK, at least I think it’s funny) parts of this Elijah story is his dogged certainty that he is all alone.  At the end of the story, God reminds Elijah of what he already has been told: there are 7,000 people who share his love for God.  It’s pretty hard to consider yourself alone in a company of 7,000!  But, we do.  We all do from time to time.  Convinced that our own shortcomings, frustrations, disappointments, etc. are somehow unique to us… and we want to whine about it.

But if we pay attention… If, in those moments of silence we really listen for the voice of God, we hear and we know that we’re not alone.  Others are with us: in our joys and in our sorrows; in our disappointments and in our victories.  It’s the reminder God whispers to us… in a still, small voice.