What Are You Doing Here?
By Larry Ricksen
On April 1st of this year I retired from my paid working career of 44 years. The transition has thus far been more challenging than I envisioned. After decades of living a very structured life, I have realized I need to prayerfully consider how God would have me fill the hours that have been freed up. This new chapter has led me to the penetrating question God asked one of his prophets about 2,800 years ago: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”.
This profound question also speaks to us in every season of our life and I believe is it beneficial to wrestle with it. What are you doing here, ______ (fill in your name)? What is your life purpose? What are you seeking from the Lord? What needs do you have? What brokenness needs to be healed? What emptiness needs to be filled? What sorrow needs to be redeemed? What does God desire for you? What does God require of you? How can you faithfully serve Him this day? Again, what are you doing here ________?
This question appears twice in the familiar story of Elijah who flees Queen Jezebel (the wife of King Ahab of Israel) after she vows to kill him (1 Kings 19: 1-18). Jezebel had killed off most the Lord’s prophets as she promoted the worship of the false gods, Baal and Asherah. Elijah led by the power of the Spirit had approached King Ahab and asked him to assemble the 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel for a showdown to determine whether the God of Israel or the god of Baal is the true God. After the Lord God supernaturally revealed Himself as the true God, the people who witnessed the showdown seized and killed all the prophets of Baal, which led to Jezebel’s threat. Although having just witnessed God’s mighty power, when Elijah heard of this threat, he was afraid and ran for his life.
After 40 days he arrives at Mt. Sinai, the mountain where God met Moses, and where He had revealed Himself in thunder, lighting, fire, and an earthquake. But when Elijah arrives at Sinai the Lord first meets him and asks “What are you doing here, Elijah?”, to which Elijah replies, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too”. After telling Elijah to come out of the cave and stand on the mountain, the Lord passed by and there was a terrible windstorm, earthquake, and fire but the Lord was not in any of these. After the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper and he heard the Lord ask again “What are you doing here, Elijah?” After giving the same response as before, the Lord then instructs Elijah to go back the same way he came and gives him specific work to do.
This past week I found the following quote that has helped me answer this question. It is from Henri Nouwen’s book titled Following Jesus: Finding Our Way Home in An Age of Anxiety:
The great art of spiritual living is to pay attention to the breathing of the Spirit right where you are and to trust that there will be breathing of new life. The Spirit will reveal itself to you as you move on. That is the beauty of the spiritual life. You can be where you are. You don’t have to be anywhere else. You can be fully present to the moment and trust that even in the midst of your pain, in the midst of your struggle, something of God is at work in you and wants to reveal itself to you. Be here. Be quiet. Listen.
The short video below is an excellent summary of the Elijah story and challenges each of us to answer this question in whatever chapter of life we find ourselves.