What Are You Doing Here? | When People Disappoint Us | Where Has Disappointment Taken You?
“But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 1 Kings 19:9
Elijah was as close to God as a man can be. He’d called down fire from heaven, he’d ordered the execution of hundreds of idol priests, and when he’d prayed for rain, the sky opened up. The power of the Lord God Almighty flowed through his veins— but one threat from a wicked woman sent him running like a raccoon from a hound dog. He ran until he could run no more and as he ran, his mind churned: I’m fed up! I’ve had it with those idol-worshipping Israelites. Am I the only one left who wants to be faithful to God? I’m done with this prophet gig, they don’t want me and I don’t want them. I’m just done!”
Have you been there? Disappointment with people can make us do crazy things. We’re so fed up that we forget to ask God what He’d like us to do. Instead, we react. Stomp off. Get depressed. We drop out of church, out of a friendship, or out of a marriage. But we never run so far that God can’t find us. When Elijah stopped running, God was right there. God knew where Elijah was, but Elijah didn’t. So God made him think about it: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
He asks us the same question: “What are you doing here, Mike? Kim? John? Debbie?” Where has your disappointment taken you? As happened in Elijah’s case, great disappointment sometimes follows great victory. God may have done a mighty work through us, but a word of gossip, criticism, or betrayal sends us running. “That’s it, I’m done, I’m the only one who sees this the right way.” God finds us in our disappointment, far from where we are supposed to be. When He asks what we are doing here, we need to know the answer.
Final Thought: Where has disappointment taken you?
Prayer: Father, I can identify with Elijah. I know how he felt. I’ve been so hurt and disappointed by people that I let it drive me away from where you wanted me to be. Please forgive me and restore me to my calling. In Jesus’ name, Amen.