God’s Questions
Last time, we talked about God’s instruction to Elijah to arise and eat. This prescription for depression showed us how obedience in the ordinary leads to strength for the journey ahead. What were God’s next words to Elijah?
“And the word of the Lord came to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’
“He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’ ”
God does not ask questions in Scripture because He is seeking an answer that He does not already know. He asks questions to get us to recognize and verbalize something about ourselves or something about Him. In this passage, God is not accusing Elijah of being where he is not supposed to be nor is He second-guessing Elijah’s choices. He is giving Elijah an opening to express his true feelings. It is worth it to compare the question God asked Elijah with questions He asks elsewhere in Scripture so that we can determine what kind of question God is asking here.
While these categories are fluid and not mutually exclusive, God has several different purposes for His questions:
-
God often asks questions to convict us of our sin or to help us recognize where we are in the wrong. In the Garden, God asked Adam and Eve, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:1) and “Who told you that you were naked?” (Genesis 3:10). After Cain killed his brother, God asked him, “What have you done?” (Genesis 4:8-10). When Job questioned God’s plan for his suffering, God asked him, “Where were you when I established the earth?” (Job 38:4). When Jonah was upset that God had forgiven the Ninevites, God asked him, “Is it right for you to be angry?” (Jonah 4:4). When the disciples feared for their lives and begged Jesus to save them during the storm, Jesus calmed the wind and waves and asked them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26). On the road to Damascus, Jesus asked Paul, “Why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4).
-
God asks questions to call us to a new path. When Hagar ran from her mistress, God asked her, “Where have you come from and where are you going?” (Genesis 16:7). When Moses asked for a sign to give to the Israelites so they would believe, God asked him, “What is that in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2). When He had a message for Isaiah to proclaim to God’s people, God asked him, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8). To commission Peter to feed His sheep, Jesus asked him, “Do you love Me?” (John 21:15-17).
-
God asks questions to spur us on to greater faith by realizing something about ourselves or something about Him. When Jacob was about to receive a new name from the LORD, God asked him, “What is your name?” (Genesis 32:27). On the cusp of restoring Israel, God asked Ezekiel, “Son of Man, can these bones live?” (Ezekiel 37:3). Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). At the pool of Bethesda, Jesus asked the lame man, “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6). When Jesus realized two of John the Baptist’s disciples were following him, He turned and asked them, “What are you looking for?” (John 1:38) At the tomb, Jesus asked Mary Magdalene, “Why are you crying?” (John 20:13). When Peter began to drown after walking on water, Jesus reached down and asked him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31).
So what is the purpose for God’s question to Elijah? The LORD had led Elijah through the wilderness to this mountain, but Elijah needed to realize how he ended up there. Elijah’s response is to justify why he is feeling depressed, but God is seeking to redirect Elijah’s focus. We will see this in God’s revelation of His presence in the still, small voice. But afterward, God asks the same question again, and Elijah gives the same answer.
“Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’
“He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’ ”
Notice that God never refutes Elijah’s first two statements. He knows Elijah has been zealous for Him and He knows there are many who have worshipped Ba’al and agree with their king in attempting to put Elijah to death. However, God does find fault with his last statement that he is the only one left.
First, God tells Elijah his work is not yet done. God refutes Elijah’s earlier claim that he has made no more difference than his prophetic ancestors had (1 Kings 19:2). Instead of giving up, he has to go back the way he came. Maybe Elijah got discouraged because he thought this was all God could do when God was just getting started. How often does depression lie to us that this is all there is—that there will never be any change that makes a difference?
Second, He tells Elijah to anoint three people who will be crucial in defeating Elijah’s enemies, answering Elijah’s complaints with reinforcements: Hazael in Aram, Jehu in Israel, and Elisha in his prophetic circle. Although Elijah might not see the fruit of this work, those who follow him will. In fact, Elijah only directly appoints Elisha who performs the other two anointings in Elijah’s authority (2 Kings 9). And it is Hazael and Jehu who destroy Ahab’s family and the last vestiges of Ba’al worship in this generation of Israel. God speaks to Elijah’s despair with the promise that He will complete His work; Elijah’s zeal will be satisfied, but he himself will only be part of the plan.[1] Depression often robs us of perspective, making our thoughts and feelings larger than the big picture God sees. What if the purpose of your life was not all up to you to fulfill? What if God’s plans go far beyond what you are able to do in this moment?
Finally, He disproves Elijah’s declaration that he is the last one left. There are still 7,000 in Israel who have not bent the knee to Ba’al. While depression had convinced Elijah he was alone, God reminded him of the truth: there were many still on his side. Elijah has even discounted the hundred prophets that Obadiah had saved while he was in hiding from Ahab (1 Kings 18:4, 13). How often does the isolation of depression convince us we are alone when we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses in the Church both past and present who fight with us?
What are some of the irrational beliefs you’ve told yourself? What is the reality that God is trying to teach you instead? How can you replace your thoughts with God’s truth?
God’s questions invited a place where Elijah could freely express his feelings, but they also called out the irrational beliefs that held him captive and redirected him toward the truth. When I struggle with depression, I am bombarded by thoughts like “I’m not good enough. Everyone would be better without you.” “It doesn’t matter what I do. Things will stay like this forever.” “I am alone in this. There is no one to help me.” But I have found the truth in God’s Word that tells me I am chosen and adopted by God. The hope of the Gospel rests on the life-changing power of the Spirit not on my own strength. And God is my ever-present help in trouble, even when the rest of the world abandons me.
What is your answer to God’s question today? Why are you here? Pour it all out to Him—the unvarnished truth of your dark thoughts. Then allow Him to redirect you with the truth of His Word. Challenge those irrational thoughts with the reality God has shown you. His redirection will lead you out of the mire of your own thoughts and into the freedom of following Him with abandon. Next time, we will see how the act of being honest with God can free us to experience His Presence.
[1] Gary Inrig, I & II Kings, edited by Max Anders, Vol. 7, Holman Old Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman, 2003).
