Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (1 Kings 19:13).

Advent is all about waiting, waiting for Immanuel, God with us. The final word on Immanuel is at the end of Revelation when God makes his home on earth with us. Before that scene, the Bible is littered with stories of God with his people. This Advent we will explore some of those.

One of my favourites is God's question to Elijah in his despair, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" You can read the whole story in 1 Kings 19.

This comes just after Elijah's mountain top experience with God. He had challenged the priests of Baal to a "do or die contest" of the gods. Baal vs the Lord God of Israel. The Baal priests would build an altar to Baal and Elijah would build one for the Lord God. Which ever god sent fire to light their altar would win the contest.

God won in spectacular fashion! It was really no contest.

With all the priests of Baal killed, Queen Jezebel wants Elijah's head. Elijah flees in fear and despair.

He drops down, exhausted under a broom tree in the wilderness. He just wants to die. Many of God's people have felt the same. One of them was a great hymn writer, William Cowper. Check out his hymn, Oh for a Closer Walk with God. He regularly suffered from severe depression.

The thing in this story that always intrigues me is God's response to Elijah. He feeds him. Twice. This is not a prescription for curing depression. However, it does give us an image of God showing up in our discouragement.

Later, Isaiah would write this about God's chosen servant, "A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out" (Isaiah 42:3). Jesus was and is this servant. I wonder if Isaiah got the idea from God's interaction with Elijah? Its an image of Immanuel, God with us, which Jesus embraced.

Elijah then journeys to the mountain of God, where God appears to him in the whisper of the breeze, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" We may want to lash out at Elijah, "how could you be so discouraged after what God did on Mount Carmel?"

Of course, there may be some mild rebuke in God's question. But God is gentle with Elijah and sets him back on course. Elijah thinks he is all by himself, that he is done and God is done too. But God tells Elijah that he still has 7 000 in Israel who worship him alone. God was doing a lot more than what Elijah could see.

And then God gives Elijah more work to do. So often, we think our ability to do God's work is based on our performance. Its not. It's based on God's calling and equipping. Even though Elijah wondered off course, God still showed up. He was still Immanuel, God with us. Be encouraged.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May your day end with rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you. May you rest in his provision as he brings night, and then new dawn.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Genesis 28:10-22. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

1. Take time to reflect on promises you made and promised you received. Do you expect them to be kept?
2. What does the name Jacob mean? How does this attitude show up in your life? Where do we find Jacob in our passage for today? Have you ever been in that place?
3. Write down some of God's amazing grace as revealed in this story.
4. What is the stairway about?
5. Jacob has a double response to his dream. How will you respond to God's promise, "I will be with you to the very end"?

"The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give! You have granted him the desire of his heart, and not withheld the request of his lips" (Psalm 21:1-2).

Psalm 21 is obviously a song of victory. It is not difficult to imagine the people of Israel singing these words as David returned victorious from battle. The day is perfect for Israel: king and people are following the Lord and rejoicing in his blessings of victory.

Notice how the victory clearly belongs to God alone. It was asked for by the king; it was a desire of his heart. But the song recognizes that only God is responsible for the defeat of the enemy. The psalm exudes trust and confidence in God.

Notice also that the enemies haven't got a chance. The singers are totally convinced that they are goners. None who oppose God can survive. While the enemies wither away, the king's days are lengthened, even, for ever and ever.

Of course, David did not live forever. Peter says on the first Pentecost that David's tomb is there for all to see. This phrase in verse 4 is likely a reference to the promise that David will have a descendent on Israel's throne forever.

From this perspective, Psalm 21 is about more than David coming home victorious from battle. It is filled with notes that resound with Easter. It's a psalm for Christians to pray on that festival, and even every Sunday. We worship corporately on the first day of the week because Jesus' resurrection is central to our faith, hope, and love.

It is reasonable to think that this psalm sustained Jesus on his journey to Jerusalem and the cross. Perhaps he meditated on these words as he spoke of being delivered over into the hands of sinful men. Even as he carried the weight of the sin of the world, he trusted in the steadfast love of God to raise him up in power three days later.

It is not at all difficult to hear the ascended and exalted Christ praising his Father on the other side of the empty tomb, "He asked life of you; you gave it to him, length of days forever and ever."

After passing through death on behalf of his siblings, Jesus was met with rich blessings, greeted by throngs of worshipping angels, crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death (Hebrews 2:9). This is a psalm for a vindicated Messiah.

What does it mean for us? We have confidence today because Christ has prayed for us that all those whom the Father had given to him "may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me" (John 17:24). We know that God will give the Messiah his heart's desires and will not withhold the request of his lips. Therefore, we live in the hope that we will share in the glories of Christ's victory. God's children do experience suffering in this life. But we suffer patiently and with hope, confident that God's victory has been secured by Jesus' resurrection.

Furthermore, God has made us "most blessed forever," giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as we were chosen in him before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:3,4). Or as a paraphrase reads, "Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love" (MSG). Even as we struggle in this life, God is at work in us accomplishing his purposes. This psalm shores up our faith when it wavers.

As you journey on into the week ahead, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.