SCHOOL OF INNER HEALING ... LESSON 5 ...THE CAVE EXPERIENCE : WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE CAVE?

*READ*

*1 Kings 19:9* 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?*

*REFLECT*

Elijah was going through a season of disappointment, discouragement and chose to dwell in a cave.  Have you ever done that?  Have you ever purposely chosen to isolate and insulate yourself from everything and move into a cave?

In the text we have read today, God is asking Elijah and is asking you the same question is *What are you doing in the cave?* . Yes, what do we do when we choose to move into the cave? 

The answers are found in 1 Kings 19:10.

*1. In the cave, we get self-consumed.*

Four times in this verse, Elijah uses the words “I” or “my.”  He is looking at everything in life through the lens of “how this affects me and only me.”  I have been there… done that… lost count of the times…

*2. In the cave, we get mad at God.*

He didn’t exactly say it and neither do we.  But, it’s hidden in what we say and how we say it.  “Look at all I have done for God, His kingdom, His work, His people, and what is He doing for me?”  “With all the good I have done, I deserve much better than this.”  “I did all that for God and he won’t even get Jezebel off my back.”

*3. In the cave, we get upset with everyone in our life.*

Elijah lumps all his countrymen together into one lump and is upset with the whole lot.  In the cave, we get mad at the world. 

*4.  In the cave, we exaggerate.*

In the cave, we usually make our problems bigger in our mind than they actually are.  There was one woman after Elijah.  He believed that everyone was out to get him. 

*RESPOND IN PRAYER*

*PRAYER 1* | Caves are the ideal location for throwing a pity party. Pray the Father to get you out of it in the Name of Jesus Christ

*PRAYER 2* | Hiding out deeply in the darkness of your closed-in cavern actually adds fuel to the fire of your discouragement.  Pray the Father to get you out of it in the Name of Jesus Christ

*PRAYER 3* | You may find yourself in a down season today but don't make it a permanent season.  Pray the Father to get you out of it in the Name of Jesus Christ

*PRAYER 4* | Even if you choose to cut everyone out of your life, you can’t.  Pray the Father to get you out of it in the Name of Jesus Christ