How Did I Ever Get Here?

And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 1 Kings 19:13

Have you ever suddenly looked at your life and realized you’d gone somewhere you never intended to go. You didn’t set out to use drugs, have an affair, get addicted to porn, or gamble your life savings away. But that’s where you ended up. How did I get here? You got there one little step at a time. At first, it was just one little indulgence. No big deal. Then it was another and another. Soon, the little sins started piling up, metastasizing through your life. You gave in once and opened the door to an eventual flood of self-destructive behaviors. Then, only when something external force awakens you and reality comes crashing down, do you look around and ask, How did I get here?

In today’s passage, God came to Elijah, asking him a similar question. What are you doing here? Elijah, in fear for his life, ran and hid in a cave. This, however, wasn’t where Elijah’s life was supposed to have taken him. So, God came to Elijah, asking him where he was and what he was doing there. God corrected him, telling him to change his course and return to God’s will. God had a plan for Elijah, and it didn’t involve hiding in a cave. Get up, turn around, and follow me. 

The same is true for us. God has a plan for us, but we often have our own plans. We don’t set out to wreck our lives, but we just want a little taste of sin. So, we indulge just a little and step into a raging current that sweeps our lives away to a place we never intended.

The little things matter. How I live my life today, determines what my life is like tomorrow. If I give in, even a little, I start down a road that goes somewhere I don’t want my life to go. It is of course, best if we never start down that road. When, however, we do find ourselves somewhere we didn’t want our lives to go however, it’s not too late to repent and return to God. He has a plan for our lives and if we truly follow him every day, we’ll never have to look around in horror, wondering how we got where we are. Get up, turn around, and follow me.