“What Are You Doing Here?”

Picture: “What Are You Doing Here?” 2TC 82.1

This chapter is based on 1 Kings 19:9-18. 

Elijah’s hideout on Mount Horeb was known to God, and He did not leave the discouraged prophet to struggle alone with the powers of darkness. At the cave where Elijah had taken refuge, God met with him through a mighty angel to inquire into his needs and to make plain God’s plans for Israel. 2TC 82.2

Elijah could not complete his work until he learned to trust entirely in God. The triumph on Carmel had opened the way for still greater victories, yet Jezebel’s threat had turned Elijah away from the wonderful opportunities opening before him. The man of God needed to understand the position of strength the Lord wanted him to have. 2TC 82.3

“What are you doing here, Elijah?” I sent you to the brook Cherith and to the widow of Zarephath. I commissioned you to stand before the idolatrous priests on Carmel and to guide the chariot of the king to Jezreel. But who sent you into the wilderness? What errand do you have here? 2TC 83.1

In bitterness Elijah complained, “I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts; for 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.” 2TC 83.2

The angel told the prophet to stand and listen to the Lord’s word. “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.” 2TC 83.3

By “a still small voice” God chose to teach Elijah that the most successful work is not always the one that makes the greatest demonstration. Elijah’s anger was silenced, his spirit subdued. He now knew that relying firmly on God would always find him help in time of need. 2TC 83.4

Hearts are not reached by eloquence or logic, but by the Holy Spirit. The still, small voice of the Spirit of God has power to change the heart. 2TC 83.5

“What are you doing here, Elijah?” the voice inquired; and again the prophet answered, “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.” 2TC 83.6

The Lord answered Elijah that the wrongdoers would not go unpunished. Men were to be chosen to punish the idol-worshiping kingdom. There was stern work to be done. Elijah must return to Israel and share with others the burden of bringing about a reformation. 2TC 83.7

“Go,” the Lord commanded Elijah, “anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also ... anoint Jehu ... as king over Israel. And Elisha ... you shall anoint as prophet in your place. ... Whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill.” 2TC 84.1

The One who reads the hearts of all revealed to the prophet that there were many others who had remained true to Him through the long years of apostasy. “I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal.” 2TC 84.2

The apostasy today is similar to the one that overspread Israel in Elijah’s day. By exalting the human above the divine, by praising popular leaders, by worshiping money, and by placing science above the truths of revelation, multitudes today are following Baal. Many are substituting human theories for the Word of God. People teach that human reason should be exalted above the teachings of the Word. They declare the law of God to be of no effect. The enemy is working to cause men and women to forget God’s provisions for the happiness and salvation of the human family. 2TC 84.3

Many Today Have Not Bowed to Baal

Yet this widespread apostasy is not universal. Not all are lawless and sinful. God has many who long to understand more fully about Christ and the law, many who are hoping that Jesus will come soon to end the reign of sin and death, many with whom the Spirit of God is still working. 2TC 84.4

These need the personal help of others who know God and His Word. As those who understand Bible truth seek out the men and women who are longing for light, angels will go with them. As a result, many will stop giving honor to human institutions and will take their stand fearlessly on the side of God and His law. 2TC 84.5

Satan makes every possible effort to cause the obedient to lose sight of their mission and become satisfied with the pleasures of this life. He leads them to settle down at ease or, for the sake of worldly advantages, to move away from places where they might be a power for good. Others he causes to flee from duty in discouragement because of persecution. To every child of God whose voice the enemy of souls has succeeded in silencing, the question comes, “What are you doing here?” I commissioned you to go into all the world and preach the gospel, to prepare a people for the day of God. Who sent you here? 2TC 84.6

The joy that sustained Christ through sacrifice and suffering was the joy of seeing sinners saved. This should be the joy of every Christian. Those who realize what redemption really means will be moved to compassion as they see the moral and spiritual destitution of people who are under the shadow of a terrible doom, with which physical suffering cannot compare. 2TC 85.1

In many churches there are families who might move to places in need of the ministry they can give. God calls for families to go to the dark places of earth and work wisely for those who are wrapped in spiritual gloom. This requires self-sacrifice. While many wait to have every obstacle removed, souls are dying without hope and without God. For worldly advantage, or to acquire scientific knowledge, people endure hardship and privation. Where are those who are willing to do as much for the sake of telling others of the Savior? 2TC 85.2

In Times of Weakness, Trust in God

If, under difficult circumstances, people of spiritual power who are pressed beyond measure become discouraged, this is nothing strange or new. One of the mightiest of the prophets ran for his life from the rage of an infuriated woman. Bitter disappointment crushed the spirits of the weary fugitive, and he asked that he might die. But when hope was gone and his lifework seemed threatened with defeat, he learned the possibility of trusting God under circumstances that seemed the most unlikely to turn out well. 2TC 85.3

Those who, while spending their life energies in self-sacrificing labor, are tempted to give way to hopelessness may gather courage from the experience of Elijah. God’s watchful care, His love, His power, are especially revealed in behalf of His servants when people reject their counsels and reproofs and repay their efforts toward reform with hatred and opposition. 2TC 85.4

At the time of greatest weakness Satan attacks the believer with the fiercest temptations. In this way he hoped to prevail over the Son of God, for by this method he had gained many victories over others. When willpower weakened and faith failed, then those who had stood long and valiantly for the right yielded to temptation. Wearied with forty years of wandering and unbelief, Moses failed just on the borders of the Promised Land. Elijah had maintained his trust in Jehovah during the years of drought, but in a moment of weariness he allowed the fear of death to overcome his faith in God. 2TC 86.1

So it is today. When we are awash in doubt or afflicted by poverty or distress, Satan seeks to shake our confidence in Jehovah. He tempts us to distrust God, to question His love. He hopes to discourage us and break our hold on God. 2TC 86.2

Those who stand in the forefront of the conflict will frequently feel a reaction when the pressure is off. Discouragement may shake the faith and weaken the will. But God understands. He still pities and loves. He reads the motives of the heart. To wait patiently, to trust when everything looks dark, is the lesson that leaders in God’s work need to learn. Heaven will not fail them in tribulation. Nothing is apparently more helpless, yet really more invincible, than the soul that feels its nothingness and relies entirely on God. 2TC 86.3

He who was Elijah’s strength is well able to uphold every struggling child of His, no matter how weak. To everyone He grants power according to the need. In the might of God we may overcome evil and help others to overcome. Satan can never gain advantage over us if we make God our defense. 2TC 86.4

Satan knows your weakness; therefore cling to Jesus. The righteousness of Christ can give you power to turn back the tide of evil sweeping over the world. Bring faith into your experience. Faith lightens every burden, relieves every weariness. By continued trust in God you may come to understand God’s workings that are now mysterious. The records of sacred his tory are written so that the same faith shown in God’s servants of old may work in us. The Lord will work now in no less remarkable a manner wherever there are hearts of faith to be channels of His power. 2TC 86.5

Christ will never abandon those for whom He died. We may leave Him and be overwhelmed with temptation, but Christ can never turn from one for whom He has paid the ransom with His own life. If our spiritual vision could be awakened, we would see people bent under oppression, burdened with grief, and ready to die in discouragement. We would see angels flying quickly to help these tempted ones, forcing back the hosts of evil. The battles between the two armies are real. Eternal destinies depend on the outcome of the spiritual conflict. 2TC 87.1

God’s messengers are not to feel that His work depends on them. He who never slumbers will carry forward His work. He will thwart the plans of the wicked and bring to confusion the counsels of those who plot evil against His people. He who is the King, the Lord of hosts, sits between the cherubim, and amid the strife and tumult of nations He still guards His children. When the arrows of His wrath strike through the hearts of His enemies, His people will be safe in His hands. 2TC 87.2