Skip to main content

Come Out

I am encouraged and re-assured with His word through this devotional.
I hope you will be too.



COME OUT
by Charles R. Swindoll

Read 1 Kings 19:10--18

God met his servant Elijah in his desperate moment of
discouragement and despair. This is mercy at its best, beautifully
portrayed by the Master Himself.

First, God allowed Elijah a time of rest and refreshment. No
sermon. No rebuke. No blame. No shame. No lightning bolt from
heaven, saying, "Look at you! Get up, you worthless ingrate! Get on
your feet! Quickly, back on the job!"

Instead, God said, "Take it easy, my son. Relax. You haven't had a
good meal in a long time." Then He catered a meal of freshly baked
bread and cool, refreshing water. That must have brought back sweet
memories of those simple days by the brook at Cherith. How gracious
of God!

Fatigue can lead to all sorts of strange imaginations. It'll make
you believe a lie. Elijah was believing a lie, partly because he
was exhausted. So God gave him rest and refreshment, and afterward
Elijah went on for forty days and nights in the strength of it.

Second, God communicated wisely with Elijah. God said, "Elijah! Get
up and walk out of this cave. Man, it's dark in here. Go out there
and stand in the light. Stand on the mountain before Me. That's the
place to be encouraged. Forget Jezebel. I want you to get your eyes
on Me. Come on, I'm here for you. I always will be."

God's presence was not in wind or earthquake or fire. His voice
came in the gentle breeze. Those sweet zephyrs were like windswept,
invisible magnets, drawing Elijah out of the cave. Do you see what
God did? He drew Elijah out of the cave of self-pity and
depression. And once Elijah was out of that cave, God asked him
again, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

God showed Elijah that he still had a job to do---that there was
still a place for him. Disillusioned and exhausted though he was,
he was still God's man and God's choice for "such a time as this"
(Esther 4:14). And as far as this I'm-all-alone stuff went,
"Elijah, let Me set the record straight," said God. "There are
seven thousand faithful out there who have not bowed to Baal.
You're really not alone. At any given moment, with the snap of My
divine fingers, I can bring to the forefront a whole fresh
battalion of My troops." What reassurance that brought.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pray it Works

When you have done all you can do and there is nothing else left turn it over to God and open your ears and listen.
Post a Comment
Read more

200 Pesos

I remember Mike, talking in front of 100 people, a couple of years ago, started off his seminar by holding up a Php200 bill. In the room he asked. "Who would like this Php200 bill?" Hands started going up. Of course, I raised mine. He said, "I am going to give this Php200 bill to one of you" Then crumpled the 200 bill. I was surprised he did that. He then asked. "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air and again, I raised mine. "Well," he replied, "what if I do this?" He dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his black shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air and still, I wanted to get the Php200 bill. "Folks, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease it's value. It was still worth Php200. Many times in our lives, we ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Be Grateful

Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift. When the door of happiness closes, another opens, but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been opened for us. The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had. It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives. Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile. May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trails to make you strong, enough sorrow to k...
2 comments
Read more