⁹ He came to a cave and spent the night there.

Then the word of the Lord suddenly came to him, saying, “Why are you here, Elijah?”

¹⁰ He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of Armies, but the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking to take my life.”

¹¹ Then the Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is passing by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains and shattered rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.

After the wind came an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

¹² After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.

After the fire there was a soft, whispering voice.

¹³ When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak, and he went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. Then a voice came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”

¹⁴ He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of Armies, but the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking to take my life.”

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came and go to the Wilderness of Damascus. When you get there, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram. ¹⁶ You will also anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah as prophet in your place. ¹⁷ Whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill, and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. ¹⁸ But I have preserved in Israel seven thousand whose knees have not bent to Baal and whose lips have not kissed him.”

Jesus Walks on Water

²² Immediately Jesus urged the disciples to get into the boat and to go ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³ After he had dismissed the crowd, he went up onto the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. ²⁴ By then the boat was quite a distance from shore, being pounded by the waves because the wind was against it. ²⁵ In the fourth watch of the night,^[a] Jesus came toward them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified and cried out in fear, “It’s a ghost!” ²⁷ But Jesus spoke to them at once, saying, “Take heart! It is I! Do not be afraid.”

²⁸ Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ Jesus said, “Come!”

Peter stepped down from the boat, walked on the water, and went toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the strong wind, he was afraid. As he began to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

³¹ Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. ³³ Those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God!”

Patient Endurance, Wisdom, Prayer, and Faith

² Consider it complete joy, my brothers,^[a] whenever you fall into various kinds of trials, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces patient endurance. ⁴ And let patient endurance finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

⁵ If any one of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives it to all without reservation and without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, without doubting, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ In fact, that person should not expect that he will receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Temptation

¹² Blessed is the man who endures a trial patiently, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God^[a] promised to those who love him.