In A Cave

"Then the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” (1 Kings 19:9b)

In prophetic lingo “the word of the Lord came to him” had special significance. It meant that God was about to speak authoritatively to and through His spokesman, the prophet. That is certainly the case here in the interaction between the Lord and Elijah on Mount Horeb, but this expression is somewhat unique. Here it says, “The word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him.” This is more of a personification of the word of the Lord. The Word came to Elijah, and He spoke to him.

This should remind us of John chapter one: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Then later we read, “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten One of the Father.”

John was referring to Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah, as this Word of God. That then suggests that Jesus, the Son of God, was the One who was in that cave with Elijah, the One who spoke to him.

Let’s translate this for ourselves. On those days when you find yourself in a proverbial dark cave, on the side of a mountain, in the middle of a desert, you can count on the fact that you as a believer will not be alone. Jesus will be there with you. And that is enough.

Lord, We thank You that no matter where we may be, You will always be there with us. You are our strength, our rock, and our fortress, and You enable us to face everything that comes our way. For this we thank You. Amen.