Why Are You Here?

“Then he came there to a cave and spent the night there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”.

(1 Kings 19:9 NASB)

I tend to find myself going through mental tangents in the morning, as important as I know morning to be. I don’t know how long this has been my ‘normal’, but I do know that it didn’t just start today. As I am sitting, honestly upsetting myself with thoughts that I should not have been having, the Holy Spirit reminded me of Elijah in 1 Kings 19, and I posed the question to myself, “How did I get here?”

The enemy has a way of creeping through the doors of life that we have not shut. He comes through neural pathways that cause us to be triggered by past events, but in Philippians 4:8, we are told to tackle thought processes by fixing our thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

Jesus dealt with people. He was rejected, abandoned, misunderstood, lied on, exposed to the unthinkable, tired, and prayerful. There were so many opportunities for Him to have a negative mindset about the very people that He was sent to save, but He proceeded forward with the plans of Father God.

Thoughts can slow you down and cause you to abort missions that will bring great success to God, you, and to others. The mornings is the start of your day. You can set your sights on greatness, but know that the enemy is never too far and desires to wreak havoc before your feet touch the floor.

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5 KJV).

During any place in your day, at this moment, what are you thinking? What triggered the thought? How did you get here? God combated the enemy in Elijah’s mind with His voice. God paid special attention to him. God will do the same for you; let Him! Dive deep into His Word, and know that He has not lied to you ( Numbers 23:19).

Lord, thank you for infiltrating thought processes today with your love, attentiveness, and redirection. You have exposed the enemy, his schemes, and tactics; the voice of the stranger we will not follow, but the voice of your truth is what we will cling to.

Lord, cover our minds today, and alert us to thought patterns that try to lead us astray, into places that you have not called us to go. You led Elijah out of the wildness and closer to your voice.

Thank you for being close to us today, speaking to us, and being a very present help. Heal the areas that have promoted toxic thinking as we give those negative experiences and feelings to you. In Jesus name, amen.

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