Preface
From a couple of years ago, but so relevant today! I’ve updated it a bit too.
A question for all of us!
I’ve asked it before, but The LORD brings it back to today. It’s worth a rerun anyway, but it’s so appropriate for today.
There’s an urgency in it today as the time for us to ‘get it right’ has never been more important.
What are You Doing Here?
Bear with me for a bit. Elijah had just won the Battle of Mount Carmel.
He fled before Jezebel who wanted his head on a platter. He ended up at Mount Horeb where he hid in a cave.
The LORD sent to him in wind, in earthquake, and in fire, but He was not in any of them. Then He came to Elijah in a still, quiet whisper.
Elijah, knowing The LORD was present, stood in the mouth of the cave. That’s when The LORD asked what, to me, was the most amazing question — “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
I can imagine Elijah’s initial reaction. “What am I doing here? I’ll tell you what I’m doing here. That dreadful Jezebel has killed all your other prophets, and now she is trying to kill me, and you ask what am I doing here? I’m hiding for fear of my life, that’s what I’m doing here! If you’ll pardon my bluntness!”
I can imagine his indignation, followed rather quickly by his own amazement when The LORD appeared to totally ignore him by saying, “Just run along and anoint Hazael, Nimshi, and Elisha!”, all as if nothing whatsoever were amiss.
The LORD is doing something similar to many of us in this hour.
He’s asking us what we are doing “here”, when He actually wants us doing something different somewhere else!
Here we are, licking our wounds just like Elijah, and The LORD is lining us up for our next task. The trouble is that most of us, again just like Elijah, don’t realist that God has us exactly where He wants us — oh, and it’s not about us anyway!
There’s actually five different ways of asking that question — five words — five interpretations.
WHAT are you doing here?
Rather like an exasperated parent, God finds us back again at a place He’s warned us about before.
He finds us revisiting old things we should have left behind long ago! No wonder He’s a tad exasperated!
What ARE you doing here?
Here He may well be genuinely puzzled at whatever we’re doing. It’s certainly not what He’s asked us to do — so, what ARE we doing there?
What are we even thinking about? Time to move!
What are YOU doing here?
This is not what He asked YOU to do . You’re either wasting your time completely, or you’re duplicating what someone else was asked to do.
They were probably asked to do it because they have been raised by God for that task, while you were raised and trained for something different. Pray about this!
What are you DOING here?
Wrong thing — right place. You’ve almost certainly come to the place Ggod wants you, but you’re not doing WHAT He wants you to do.
This is either misunderstanding His word, or it’s wilful disobedience (rebellion)!
Either way it needs to be corrected. Perhaps you really didn’t fancy the task God wants you to be doing.
Boring? Too complicated? Too menial? Oh dear!
What are you doing HERE?
Right thing – wrong place. You’ve once again either misheard Him, or hoping that doing it here will be okay?
Maybe you’d find it embarrassing to do it where God said? Maybe you’d look ‘foolish’?
Ask God to help you overcome your objections.
Whichever way you look at this question, you will find your own ‘reasons’ for doing something else, somewhere else.
Here’s what I hear The LORD saying to us today, “Is where you are, where I asked you to be?
I can use you anywhere, but I can use you best where I ask you to be.
If you want to be used most effectively by Me, then stand where I ask of you.
It may be uncomfortable, it may be embarrassing, it may seem boring, but will you not stand in that place just because I ask it of you?
I only ask of you that which is of greatest value to My Kingdom; of greatest answer to My People, My Church.
If you will lean on Me and allow Me to use you where you will best profit the plans I have for you, then I will Bless you, I will Heal your land, I will allow My Spirit to move in power in your lives.”
The LORD is asking some of us, “What are you doing here. I need you over there!”
Is that you?
If The LORD is asking this of you, just do it!
Postscript
This is shades of a more recent post in which I asked, “Why do you come to Church? What do you expect when you get there?”
Firstly, this is all about our faith and our levels of expectation.
The first Church EXPECTED healings and miracles.
We seem to get excited if there’s so much as a warm fuzzy feeling during worship. It’s time to listen to God and actually do as He asks.
It’s also about your individual role in your Church.
What is your role?
What is your assignment?
We are relatively new to our Church and, personally, I’m still unsure of my role and assignment — but I’ve got one or two clues!
We shall see what and how The LORD reveals and releases this to all concerned.
I’m excited!
First published: September 20, 2021.
~ Chris G. Bennett
Chris Bennett came to salvation in 1962 but didn’t begin ministry until 2007 — a late-comer! Now mandated by The LORD to prophesy and open old wells of revival in the U.K., but especially in Wales. He has also operated Healing Rooms, and worked with deliverance teams, all with his wife, Linda. Happily now doing whatever The LORD asks of them! Founder, with wife Linda, of their ministry The Upper Room Encounter.
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