Does God Have Your Attention?

(Episode 30) There are days when we are so blinded by life's business and stress that we lose our focus. But if needed, God will go to extreme lengths to get your attention, like he did with Elijah! Let's talk about it.

Transcript

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Hello, everybody. Welcome to the Dona Watson Show. I'm your host, Dona Watson. I'm just an average American Patriot who loves God, her family, her country. And I try really hard to listen to God's voice. Sometimes I write stuff. Come with me, together let's explore this crazy experience we call l ife. Welcome to the show. Hello everybody. Welcome to Episode 30: Does God have your attention? In 1 Kings 19, God gets Elijah's attention. Elijah runs from persecution. He was being pursued by the evil queen Jezebel, and he runs all the way to Horeb, the mountain of God, which was a 40-day walk. He entered a cave and he hid. And the Bible tells us that God said to him suddenly,"What are you doing here, Elijah?" Elijah defends himself. He says,"I've been very zealous for you, but now everyone is dead, but me and they want to kill me too." Now that wasn't completely true, but God tells him,"Go out, stand on the mountain in the Lord's presence." And the Bible says that at that moment, the Lord passed by. A mighty wind came with the Lord. It tore at the mountain. It shattered the cliffs, but the Lord was not in the wind. Then an earthquake came. Must have shaken him up pretty good, but he recognized that God wasn't in the earthquake either. Then a fire burned, but the Lord wasn't in the fire. But then...Elijah heard a whisper of a voice and he immediately knew it to be the voice of his God. He wrapped his face in his mantle and stepped outside the cave in reverence. And what does God do? Interestingly, he asks Elijah the very same question:"What are you doing here, Elijah?" This is where you have to love the tenaciousness of Elijah. I do. Even though the prophet had seen the power of God and heard the voice of God, he was still human and he was still so blinded by his grief. He had seen God's altars torn down and I can easily imagine that at least some of the prophets whom Jezebel killed had been his friends, or at least co-laborers in God's work, fellow priests serving the Lord together and now they were dead. And in his grief Elijah's answer remains the same:"I have been very zealous for the Lord, God of Armies, but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and they are looking for me to take my life." What Elijah didn't realize was that he couldn't see the whole picture. And God still had a job for him to do. Elijah was to go back into the fray and set the stage for victory. He was to anoint new leaders who would be sent to bring justice and to train a new prophet who would eventually take his place when God called Elijah to heaven. Where are you today? Do you feel as if you alone are left in your community to hold up a godly standard? There was one more bit of news that God had for Elijah. There were still 7,000 people who had not bowed to or worshiped Baal. Similar to Elijah, today you might feel alone, but know that God has his eye on you. And he wants you to know that you aren't alone. He knows where you are. He knows where the survivors are who have not bowed to the God of this age, those who have stayed true to him. And God will rally his people together. True justice will prevail and godliness will win in the end. Like Elijah, we all have a job to do. That's why we're still here. We need to go back into the fray and keep up the fight to hold the standard of holiness high. This reminds me of the words that were spoken to Joshua, as he was preparing to enter the promised land:"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Those words, spoken thousands of years ago, are just as true for us today as they were when spoken to Joshua. So be tough. Be strong. My friend, we have work to do.