1 Kings 19.1-21 gives us a picture of God's servant in distress and God's ongoing protective calling. Here we see Elijah in despair. Does he have reason for despair? From a mortal standpoint, yes. He is outnumbered, outgunned, has no adequate place to hide, and no human authorities who have not promised to kill him. The circumstances are quite dire. What is Elijah to do?
Look how the Lord confronts Elijah. After having him rest and eat, our God asks Elijah what is wrong. And there is a lot wrong! God next makes a lot of noise, which is a rather perplexing thing to do. Contrary to what we have probably heard many times, God is not showing Elijah that he is good because he recognizes God's whispers. It seems rather that the Lord is reminding Elijah that noise is noise but that God's presence is steadfast even amid lots of noise.
See how the Lord asks the same question again and receives the same answer? Elijah is dense and slow to receive encouragement. This means there is hope for me too.
In the final analysis, God says, "Get up and go to work. I'll keep caring for you." That's the kind of message we need. Jesus the savior of the world has promised to be with us always. He feeds us, he gives us rest, he directs us, and he forgives us. Surely our lord has visted us.
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