He got up, ate and drank his fill, and set out. Nourished by that meal, he walked forty days and nights, all the way to the mountain of God, to Horeb. When he got there, he crawled into a cave and went to sleep. Then the word of God came to him: “So Elijah, what are you doing here?” 1 Kings 19:8-9

We are all familiar with this question. As children we were often in trouble, trying to reply to a parent who enquired. It can be annoying to face it in adulthood. When we do the wrong thing, feel uncomfortable because we are summoned to give an account of our whereabouts or doings. We get our backs up!

Elijah was running away. The Bible tells us “Elijah was afraid, and fled for his life” provoked to fear by Jezebel. Telling God that he may as well lay down and die. God took hold of the situation and made it meaningful. “What are you doing here?”

We may have run away from a situation because it was uncomfortable, but the question applies to us “What are you doing here?” Take time to think about the question. No-one ends up in recovery by mistake. God can make this time in our lives abundantly worthwhile, however unpleasant it may seem right now. It is up to us! The end result hinges a lot on our coming to grips with the question. It is unavoidable and it is not a once in a lifetime question. God had to sort our Elijah and put Him right. He needs to do the same with us through the process of recovery.