Stand on the mountain

[jerry ralph]

“How rare it is to find a soul quiet enough to hear God speak.”

FRANCOIS FENELON



“So He said, ‘Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD.’ And behold the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking 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. After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was snot in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.” 1 KINGS 19:11-12 NASB



I like how the King James Version of the Bible translates this “sound of a gentle blowing.” It is referred to as a “still small voice.” Now this speaks to me, somewhere inside of my heart when I let all the wind die down, and I let all the earthquakes settle, and I allow the fire to burn its self out, then if I listen I can hear. But as long as all that other stuff is going on it’s hard to hear anything.

When the prophet Elijah experienced all of this, he was experiencing fear and self-pity because of Jezebel. He really feared this wicked woman. Elijah ended up in a cave hiding when God commanded him to “go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” The LORD then said to Elijah, “what are you doing here” (v 13), and Elijah went and sat on the pity pot and explained to the LORD that he had been doing all this good work for Him and how he was all alone. The Lord God soon told Elijah that he was not alone and gave him instructions to get back to work. I find this to be good advice for myself today when I am experiencing self-pity. Get back to work and do something for someone else. Once again I can find love and compassion to be an outward answer to an inward problem. Once again God through the Word is showing me how to survive by doing for me what I could not do for myself……………JRE



“Pity is one of the noblest emotions available to human beings; self-pity is possibly the most ignoble. Pity is the capacity to enter into the pain of another in order to do something about it; self-pity is an incapacity, a crippling emotional disease that severely distorts our perception of reality. Pity is adrenaline for acts of mercy; self-pity is a narcotic that leaves its addicts wasted and derelict.”

EUGENE H. PETERSON



“Understanding is the key to right principles and attitudes, and right action is the key to good living.”

BILL W. ………AA 12X12 page 125

 

[Levi44]

Hi Jerry -That was very insiteful - thank you so much. My husband and I have been restling with the flu all week and your devotion made me think of all the other people in the world that have afflictions so very much worse than ours and have to stop feeling sorry for myself. Thanks again, Hedi, Norfolk, VA

 

[jerry ralph]

Hi Jerry -That was very insiteful - thank you so much. My husband and I have been restling with the flu all week and your devotion made me think of all the other people in the world that have afflictions so very much worse than ours and have to stop feeling sorry for myself. Thanks again, Hedi, Norfolk, VA

Thank you Hedi, I pray you are feeling well and better. The quote by Eugene Peterson really hits the spot when it comes to self-pity. I myself have been feeling ill for the past ten days. Today I seem to feel better. Plan on planting potatoes and onions tomorrow. Thanks for sharing......I am grateful that God is able to use me some how.
jerry ralph, Mtn. Grove Mo.