“Now Elijah the Tishbite, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord God of Israel lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except by my word.’” 1 Kings 17:1
The story of Elijah is as timely today as it was in Ahab’s day. There was a drought in Israel with a breathtaking decline in the spiritual life of the people. Israel had a succession of wicked kings, but Ahab topped them all! “”Ahab, son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him….he married Jezebel (a notorious wicked woman), daughter of the king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel to anger than did all of the kings of Israel before him.” 1 Kings 16:30-33.
This was the lowest time in the history of Israel with a wicked king, and a queen who was the personification of evil! She used her position as the Queen to introduce Baal worship as the official religion of the country!
What does God do? Does He send a mighty army? No! Does He send a legion of angels to destroy them? No! He sends an unknown man from a remote insignificant village! One man! Alone! Why? Because “God uses the weak things of the world to shame the strong…the lowly things, the despised things…to nullify the things that are, so no one may boast before Him.” 1 Corinthians 1:27
God has raised up people over the centuries to take a stand for God’s glory! They come to us through the pages of history: Martin Luther, John Calvin, William Wilberforce, John Wesley, Billy Graham and many others. God has raised YOU up for such a time as this! God plus one equals a majority! So He gets the glory! We have the same God as Elijah and the same weapons: God’s Word, prayer and the Holy Spirit! Never has there been a time when prayer has been more needed in our nation, our churches and our communities!
What a scenario Elijah steps into. Despair! Demonic power and darkness! Unless God steps in, worship of the One true God is over. What can one person do against the power of the nation, against the power of evil? But, God sent him with a message that only could be delivered in the power of the Holy Spirit! Elijah, whose name means, ‘The Lord is My God,’ had an announcement, it’s blunt, it’s fiery and it’s dangerous! It was short and to the point: “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” My God is Jehovah! He is the Living God! You might think your god is powerful, but my God, controls the rain and you aren’t getting any for your crops. Animals will die, people will die. God has spoken!
God is always looking for men and women willing to stand in the gap and proclaim the truth! Our schools and universities need students willing to stand up for their faith and not be afraid of the consequences. “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one,” Ezekiel 22:30.
Are you a “stand in the gap” person?
Your friend, Jean