Elijah

October 15
Wow! It’s enough, when one is speaking about the deeds of this man to entitle it “Elijah.” I just read the final 11 chapters of I Kings, which (beginning in chapter 17) are about Elijah’s confrontation with Ahab and Jezebel. There are several reasons it is beneficial for us to examine the life of this man. I think James said it best, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.” (5:17) I think we tend to supersize men like Elijah, placing them on the proverbial pedestal thinking they were some kind of super human species of men. One thing I have noticed as I have studied such men for the past several decades is that they experienced most of the same emotionally traumatic reactions to problems and committed the same kinds of stupid, senseless mistakes most of us commit. For example, right after Elijah prayed and closed the sky for 3 ½ years so it did not rain, was fed by ravens appointed by God by the brook Cherith, raised a widow’s son from the dead, called the fire of God down at Mount Carmel which fried the altar and the offering on it, killed 400 prophets of Baal at the brook Kishon, and predicted with minute accuracy the end of the drought, he fled in fear from Jezebel (Ahab’s wife the Queen), sat dejectedly under a juniper tree a short ways from Beersheba, and asked God to kill him. His comment to God was puzzling, "for I am not better than my fathers." Of course, that was true, but I failed to grasp his point there. Men who do mighty deeds for God's honor are not mighty men. They are just men who are indwelt by a mighty God. Elijah was a man with a nature just like you and me.

Time and again we see the prophets of old who did incredible things under the hand and direct instruction of the Lord, demonstrate their very human nature by doing obscene things which ended in their death or, at the very least, strong discipline from God. Such things should be very encouraging to us as well as a warning for us. They should encourage us by causing us to realize God can use anyone He chooses for whatever purpose He desires us to accomplish whatever He wills. He can use ravens to feed us and raise the dead through our prayers. He has literally moved mountains to achieve His purposes on this planet. The key to living a life that is a mighty testimony to God is not to seek to have our prayers answered, but to seek to be in the place where He will use us to accomplish His majestic and all powerful will. It is not our will we need to consider. Discovering His will is not some kind of chess game where we strive to get into the position where we can check mate the opponent. It is our number one priority in life to be where God wants us to be when He wants us to be there. When that is true, our lives will, of necessity, be characterized by exactly what He wants them to be characterized. That characterization may be poverty, riches, miracles, death, life, mighty deeds, persecution, humility, or exaltation. Only one thing is absolutely sure and of any eternal concern. When we are in that place, the long term result will always be the exaltation and honor of the Creator of the universe. And that is why we are here. And that’s God’s word for us today.