And he [Elijah] came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the work of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" And he said, "I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life to take it away."  And He said, "Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord." And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks 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.                                I Kings 19:9-12

In preparing the messages to bring to the congregation, I have learned to be very flexible.  I may intend to preach one subject only to have God change my message, maybe more than one time.  Let me give you a bit of a recap.

Elijah, the prophet of God, went upon Mount Carmel.  While there he put the prophets of Baal to a test.  He told them that whichever of the gods answered with fire would be the god that the people would serve.  The Bible says there were 450 prophets of Baal who went through the rituals, trying to get their gods to answer them, but the gods would not.

Elijah then prepared a sacrifice upon the altar to God and had the people douse the altar with water so there would be no doubt when God responded.  God sent down fire from heaven so great that it consumed the sacrifice, dried up all the water and also consumed the prophets of Baal.  The prophets of Baal were destroyed, as were the false gods they worshipped.  This made Queen Jezebel very angry and she put a price on the head of Elijah.  She said, "Before the sun sets tomorrow, the same thing will happen to you that happened to my prophets."  Out of fear Elijah fled.

I want to ask a question.  Why is it when we get right with the Lord, there comes a dark valley?  A testing occurs.  Why is it when we win the victory, we are plunged into discouragement?  That is a hard question to answer, isn't it?  I can't answer those questions, but I do know that my God always has a plan.  I know there are some of you here who are discouraged this morning; I get discouraged, too.  No matter how much a preacher may do for his congregation, he always feels he could have done more.  He often feels like he is not measuring up to the expectations of others; but, Friend, I am talking to myself as much as I may be talking to you.  God is still on the throne.  He knows of our discouragement.

Elijah ran to Beer-sheba and from there he went a day's journey into the wilderness.  He sat down under a juniper tree and there he prayed to die.  Have you ever felt that discouraged?  You feel like it would be easier to die than to go through the misery you are going through this moment.  Let me tell you what the Lord did for Elijah while he was under that tree.  An angel came and touched him and said, "Arise and eat.  There is a cake on the fire and plenty of water to drink."  On the second day the angel appeared again and said, "Arise and eat because the journey will be great."  God did not rebuke Elijah for being discouraged; He knows the human weaknesses.  He knows our human limits, too.  Do not for one minute think God is mad at you when you are going through a valley of discouragement.

For forty days and night Elijah wallowed in his discouragement.  God knew how long the dark valley would be for Elijah, yet here is the best part -- when Elijah found a cave to rest in, the voice of God told him to "Go forth."

I had planned to use the words, "Go Forth" to speak to our graduates and others of the congregation, but God turned it around.  He told me to speak to those who may be in the dark cave of despair.  Have you ever been in a cave and turned off the lights?  I remember doing that once when I was a kid.  It was dark and cold.  I advise you today, if you are in a dark cave of discouragement, go forth.  Put your eyes upon the Lord and leave them there.

There are hundreds of promises in the Bible but I want to share two with you today.

• I will never leave thee, nor forsake you. -- Hebrews 13:5

• Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. -- Matthew 28:20

If those two promises do not life you up, I do not know what will.

God told Elijah to get out of the cave.  As Elijah stood upon the mountain the Lord passed by.  He saw a wind so great that it began to break the mountain and there was a raging fire.  God was not in the wind.  God was not in the earthquake and He was not in the raging fire.  God was only showing Elijah those things of discouragement.  The wind represents a storm.  The earthquake is represented as our feet being on shaky ground, and the fire represents how real discouragement can be.

Where was God when those things were happening?  He was in the still calm voice, reminding us that everything is going to be okay.  When the angel spoke to Elijah, that was God.  It was God with him the second day and God was with him in the cave.  In that same still voice He is with you when you wait for a kidney transplant and He whispers, "Everything is going to be okay."  He is with you when you are told you need open heart surgery and at your age it will not be a good prognosis, but God whispers, "Everything is going to be okay."  Your family is tearing apart, but God whispers, "Everything is going to be okay."  God know how much we can bear.  Child of God, let me tell you something --- It is going to be okay.  Let me remind you, you are children of the Most High God. 

I love the song that Martha Sexton sings:
"He was there all the time; He was there all the time,
Waiting patiently in line; He was there all the time."

We all have reasons to be discouraged sometimes, but God is able.  He will never turn His back on you.  He is there through our winds.  He is there when the earth shakes under our feet, and He is there through our dark caves.  God showed Elijah what He would do for him, and then He brought Elijah home in a fiery carriage.  Is that not the plan we all are eventually waiting for?  Going home!  That will be our time of great victory.

Pastor Earnest Fields, Jr.
July 13, 2008