God's Care

"And he came there to the cave, and lodged there; and behold, the Word of Jehovah came to him, and said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? And he said, Being zealous, I have been zealous for Jehovah the God of Hosts, for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant; they have thrown down Your altars, and they have killed Your prophets with the sword, and I am left, I alone, and they seek to take my life. And he said, Go out and stand on the mountain before Jehovah. And, behold, Jehovah passed by, and a great and strong wind tearing the mountains and breaking the rocks in bits before Jehovah! Jehovah was not in the wind. And after the wind was an earthquake, but Jehovah was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake was a fire, but Jehovah was not in the fire; and after the fire came a still, small voice. And it happened when Elijah heard, he wrapped his face in his robe and went out and stood at the cave opening; and, behold, a voice came to him, and it said, What are you doing here, Elijah? And he said, Being zealous, I have been zealous for Jehovah, God of Hosts for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant; they have thrown down Your altars, and they have slain Your prophets by the sword; and I, I alone, am left; and they seek to take my life."

(I Kings 19: 9 - 14; Literal Translation of the Holy Bible)

Elijah was depressed.

He had faithfully served Jehovah, doing everything he was told to do.

And now his life was in danger.

Who wouldn't be depressed?

Elijah wanted to hear God's voice, to know God understood how he felt, to have reassurance that God would take care of him.

God sent a strong wind, then an earthquake and a fire. But God was not to be found in them.

Instead, He spoke in a still, small voice.

When we're down, when we're not sure where God is, we often want Him to show Himself in a mighty way. Sometimes He does, but more often, it's in little ways. We may think we need to be ministered to in a certain way, and can't understand why God doesn't meet that need, only to be humbled when He does the unexpected.

That's what God has done for us. In the past two weeks, we have received two anonymous monetary gifts. We got our income tax refund in a mere three weeks (it offsets what we had to pay to the state of New York.) I scored some awesome deals at the grocery store. We've had three people respond to our plea for help with lawn mowing. We've also gotten money from other sources.

No, these aren't the things I thought I needed from God. But they do show that He cares about me, and if I'm honest, the increased costs of food and fuel are a source of stress for me. (I realize that everyone is dealing with these things and many are having to choose between _______ and gas for their cars.)

So today I rejoice in God's still, small voice. And I pray that I can stop and listen for it. As God commanded Job:

"Stand still and consider the wonderful works of God."

(Job 37: 14; LITV)