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God Invites Us To Be Honest With Him · The Bible Bit Podcast

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  Welcome back. This is Kimmy Miller of Woman at the Well Ministries bringing
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  you another Bible bit for you to enjoy.
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  God invites us to be honest with Him.
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  Today as we continue our journey through 1 Kings 19, mining the lessons we learned
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  from Elijah, we're going to focus on 1 Kings 19, 9-10.
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  Here we learn of God's invitation to Elijah for Elijah to honestly tell God how he feels.
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  God knows all things, but God is relational and invites his children to have
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  honest and open conversations with him.
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  1 Kings 19, 9-10 says, And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there.
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  And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him,
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  What doest thou here, Elijah?
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  And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts,
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  for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars,
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  and slain thy prophets with the sword.
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  And I, even I, only am left, and they seek my life to take it away.
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  Elijah is pouring out his heart and his honest feelings to God with no hesitation or holding back.
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  More importantly, Elijah is not just venting to God. He is responding to God's
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  invitation to tell him what he is feeling.
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  Elijah teaches us that it's okay to pour your heart out to God.
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  God knew everything that Elijah was feeling, yet he gave him the opportunity
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  to express his true feelings and to speak what was on his heart.
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  God does the same for us.
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  Honest prayer is not unbelief. It is a demonstration of your relationship with God.
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  Jeremiah 33.3 says, Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great
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  and mighty things which thou knowest not.
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  When we pour out our heart to God, we are exhibiting not only that we trust
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  in Him, but we are also exhibiting the depth of our relationship with Him.
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  We tell our close friends and significant others everything.
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  We let them know when they have offended us or hurt us or in some way disappointed us.
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  When we do so, it doesn't mean that we are done with them, that we no longer
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  want to be close to them, or that we think that they are less than wonderful.
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  It means that there has been an infringement upon our relationship.
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  And because of our love for each other, the value of our relationship,
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  and how much they mean to us, we need to talk the situation through,
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  find our common ground of love, and move forward together.
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  Elijah teaches us that the relationship he has with Jesus is personal, deep, and close.
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  Elijah reveals that God invites us to speak our heart and mind so that we can make room for his truth.
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  His truth will get us back on the right path.
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  Elijah reminds us of the personal nature of God and God's desire to be near to his children.
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  Jesus said, Behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if any man hear my voice
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  and open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him and he with me.
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  Revelation 3.20 And Elijah shows us what that kind of fellowship with Jesus looks like.
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  Child of God, Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother,
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  according to Proverbs 18.24.
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  Elijah shows the importance of the depth of this kind of love.
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  In fact, Jesus loves us so much that he holds nothing back from us.
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  I mean, he gave his life for us. John 3, 16. What more could he give?
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  Additionally, he daily loads us with benefits. Psalm 68, 19.
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  And the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord will give grace and glory.
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  No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
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  Psalm 84.11 Therefore, just as Elijah had a personal, strong,
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  and deep relationship with Jesus, one where he could be completely open,
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  honest, and vulnerable in his presence, so can we.
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  God is no respecter of persons. Acts 10.34 We can and are invited to express our feelings to God.
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  All our feelings, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
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  Don't worry that you may shock or offend God. God is bigger than your problems
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  and bigger than your words.
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  He won't be offended, and your honest truth will set the stage for restoration,
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  healing, and relationship growth.
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  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8, 32.
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  My friend, open yourself up to God just as Elijah did. Speak freely from your
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  feelings, your heart, and your mind.
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  Allow God to transform you by renewing your mind.
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  Present yourself to him for his service and to follow his will. Romans 12, 1 and 2.
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  Let God do what only God can do. He's already there. Hebrews 13, 5.
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  Being where no one else can be and doing for you what no one else can do.
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  Remember you are loved. Jesus loves you.