And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? 10 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.

Elijah Alone In the Dark

In that darkness, Elijah’s despair, his depression had grown worse. Now in his mind’s eye he believes all the prophets are slain, he is the only one left and yes they want to kill him as well.

Then God intervenes and...

Darkness Yield’s To A New Day - 1 Kings 19:11-13

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: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?

God’s Light Of a New Day

Isn’t this a famous scene? Elijah in the cave despondent, depressed, down-trodden to the point of quitting the office of prophet and his own life. BTW Elijah never considered suicide, he, just like Job asked God to let him die, but he nor Job never contemplated taking their own life, nor would they ever consider it.

Now, for the second time God asks him “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

I think you have to look at God’s question in to parts. First, What are you doing? Why aren’t you active, why aren’t you doing what you are supposed to be doing as my prophet? The answer you are looking for, the restoring you are looking for will not come by hiding in a dark cave. Its time to get moving again Elijah.

Secondly, the end of the sentence, “What are you doing here?” Why are you in this place at this time? What purpose are you serving here in the wilderness away from Israel where I have placed you?

His answer is the same as when God asked the first time, 1 Kings 19:14 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because 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.

Much of what Elijah said was colored by his depression. It was bad in Israel but not as bad as he was stating it now.

Not all the children of Israel had forsaken the covenant there were some faithful people left one of them was the Kings servant Obadiah who God had used to same 100s of other true believers. And of course, this meant that Elijah was not the only one left as God is going to tell him in just a moment.

Nevertheless, it is how Elijah felt in the present darkness he was covered by, and often it is the same with us. Our depression, the darkness colors and tints what we percieve, it may not be reality but emotion so let God's truth overrule the emotions and get ready for God's new day in your life.