1 Kings 19:9,13

Elijah was out of communion with God. Elijah that was once so bold had
become a coward. Elijah that had been up to this hour so successful, had taken his eyes
off of his Master, and had fled out into the desert and sat down under the juniper tree
and wished himself dead.

Some of you may have become discouraged and disheartened. You
haven’t had the success that you expected to have in Christian work. You have got
your eyes off of the Master, and you have fled out into the desert, and you are trying to
live a sort of hermit life. My dear friends, what we want, it seems to me, is to get right
into the heat of battle and stay there until the Master calls us home. I would rather die
than to outlive my usefulness. I would rather have the summons come right now than to live
and not to be used of God. I cannot conceive of a greater calamity coming upon Elijah, the
man that had been so wonderfully used, than to die there discouraged and disheartened. I
would like to die in the harness.

One of Scotland’s great preachers has brought out this thought:-
"The wanderer was alone, yet not alone. A voice he could neither mistake nor
misinterpret had sounded in his ears the thrilling question, ‘What doest thou here,
Elijah?’ Every syllable was pregnant with meaning and with rebuke. ‘What doest
thou here?’ Life (and none should know better than thee) is a great doing; not hermit
inaction, inglorious repose. ‘What doest thou?’ - thou, my viceregent (a person
appointed by a ruler to act as an administrative deputy) in these degenerate days - thou
whom I have honored above thy fellows, and who hast had proof upon proof of my
faithfulness? ‘What doest thou here ‘ - here in this desolate spot; away from
duty; the Baal altars rebuilding; my own altar in ruins; the sword of persecution
unsheathed, and the bleating flock left by thee, coward shepherd, to the ravening wolf?
‘What doest thou here, Elijah?’ Thy very name rebukes thee! Where is God, thy
strength? where are the prayers and vows of Carmel? Child of weakness, belying thy name
and destiny, ‘What - doest - thou - here?’"

At this time Elijah missed the opportunity of his life; it never
returned to him again. God permitted him to cast his mantle on Elisha, but when he came to
the very place where God would have used him mightily, he fled like a coward.

Many of us miss grand opportunities. If God calls you to some service,
do not stop to discuss whether it is a higher service or not; leave that to Him. If God
calls you, say, "Here am I; send me."

"What doest thou here?" Are you out of communion with God?
Has some cursed sin come in and separated you from God, and your life is like a blasted
tree in the desert without any power? If so, ask Him to forgive you. Return with your
whole heart unto Him, and He will use you mightily.

"Depend upon it — God’s work done in God’s way will
never lack supplies."