It’s Never Too Late to Return: Go Back Expeditiously

It is crazy how fast time flies when you are having fun. We are on Day 7 already and at the end of this particular journey. Next month, we will be sharing four more devotionals from our leadership team on this subject before we transition into the next year and its subsequent subject matter.

For now, I want to give you my second-to-last contribution before our final Zoom call tonight.

“And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.”1 Kings 19:3 KJV

“And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?”1 Kings 19:9 KJV

After rebuilding his altar, Elijah forsook it in fear. After Jezebel gave him a death threat, he did not go back to the altar he built for the reassurance he needed. Fear caused him to abandon his altar and run away from the prayer life he should have been maintaining.

It happens to the best of us for different reasons. We start off on fire, but something comes up that makes us abandon the very altar that led us to the fire in the first place.

What intrigues me most about this passage is the fact that God did not wait until Elijah went back to his altar to engage in an exchange.

God met Elijah exactly where he was. It is like Christ stepping in to be the Priest and the Sacrifice when the blood of goats and lambs was no longer enough. People say things like, “You’re not waiting on God; God is waiting on you.” Sometimes, God will only wait on you for so long.

From Cain to Elijah and more, we see clearly that God has no problem initiating conversations. He will meet you in your anger. He will meet you in your cave. He will meet you in your mess! When you make your bed in hell, He is there. Just because you forsake your altar does not mean you forsake His audience. He is omnipresent and manifests His presence wherever He feels like.

The reality is, just because you left your altar does not mean He left you. In the moments when you give up on your altar, trust me, He will not give up on you. He will locate you, and when He does, do NOT play hard to get.

When God found Elijah, He fed him and allowed him to rest, but eventually required him to move on:

“And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:”1 Kings 19:15 KJV

At some point, God requires you to repent! He requires you to go back to what you used to do! He requires you to go back to praying and fasting!

When He calls you back, do not be ashamed to come back. The altar is not a place of fear under Christ, where you worry about dying for not being perfect. Instead, it is a place of mercy, where the imperfect go for grace:

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”Hebrews 4:16 KJV

You do not have time to waste or play patty-cake!

Tonight, we are going to discover why the devil will try his hardest to keep you away from your altar. For now, just know this: all of us fall, and all of us drift, but we do NOT have to stay distant.

God is always calling us to return, and when He calls, go back EXPEDITIOUSLY.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TIME TO WASTE!

Reflection Questions

1. What caused me to drift away from an altar or spiritual discipline that once kept me close to God?

2. Is God calling me to return to something I abandoned because of fear, disappointment, distraction, or exhaustion?

3. What would it look like for me to respond to God’s call expeditiously instead of delaying my return?

Prayer Points

1. Lord, locate me. Meet me wherever I have drifted and draw my heart back into fellowship with You.

2. Lord, restore my altar. Rekindle my desire for prayer, fasting, worship, and consistent time in Your presence.

3. Lord, give me urgency. Deliver me from shame, hesitation, and delay, and give me the grace to obey You expeditiously.

   
   

   Meet us on Zoom tonight at 8 PM as we continue seeking God together. Join using the link below!

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