The Lord Is Not In It...

TGIF Today God Is First
Volume 2 by Os HillmanTuesday, July 07 2009

"The LORD said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by'" (1 Kings 19:11).
"I don't believe that God is in it," I said to Angie. A situation had arisen in which a friend was about to engage in something they felt God was leading them into. Later, the truth of the situation was revealed and our friend made a bad mistake. God was not in it.
Elijah was in a crisis in his ministry. God had just corrected him about his perspective of his situation. If any man needed a touch from God, it was Elijah because he was in such distress he wanted to die.
The Lord intervened and told Elijah that He was coming to talk to him. However, God did not tell Elijah how He was going to reveal Himself. It was up to Elijah to tell whether God was in the situations about to take place.
"Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave (1 Kings 19:11-13).
We often think God is in our grand projects only to discover that He is not. We may also assume because of the success or visibility of a situation that God is in it. He may, in fact, be in the project. However, God's ways are not always highly visible. Sometimes He chooses to come in the soft, gentle whisper. It is sometimes difficult to recognize it as the Lord because He shows Himself in such subtle ways.
We need to be able to discern when God is actually part of our situation. Only then can we avoid being deceived in thinking God is not behind our projects. Ask God for wisdom in knowing when He is involved in it.