Today I am reminded of Elijah; how he so was bold and confident in the Lord. In his boldness, he challenged the “prophets” of Baal to call upon their “god”, and he would call upon his God; and whoever answered by fire would be the true God!
It is almost laughable to imagine the scenario as these so called prophets entreated, yelled, cut themselves, pleading to their “god” to cause their sacrifice to be consumed by fire. I imagine a picture of amused disdain Elijah had as he watched them.
Then after all these theatrics, Elijah came to his altar. He soaked it with water, and called upon the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Fire came down from heaven, consumed Elijah’s sacrifice, and the sacrifice of the others, and killed all those false prophets.
But where was Elijah’s boldness, and confidence, when shortly after all this transpired, Jezebel threatened that she would kill him? Upon hearing her threats Elijah took flight and hid in a cave.
So many times we start out bold and strong in the Lord; and God does mighty things in our behalf. But often we lose sight and our faith when something else comes along we hadn’t foreseen.
We become like Elijah, and we waver and doubt, losing our confidence. We feel like we are alone in our stand for the Lord. God allowed Elijah to wallow in self-pity for a time; but then he rebuked him. He instructed Elijah to prepare another person to take his place, because God was going to take Elijah home to be with Him.
Elijah had forgotten the promises of God, he had
forgotten all that God had done for him, and through him. God wants to remind
us that He is always faithful. He is always on track, and He never loses sight
of us, or His plan for us. His Word is true, and His promises will come to
pass. Our faith must not waver, and our trust must be complete!
It is impossible to please God without faith, faith moves His hand! We must remind ourselves of His faithfulness, recalling the things God has done. This is the purpose of the Church, to build one another up, encourage, exhort, strengthen one another so that we are a unified body, strong, and confident in our faith, drawing the lost to God, and doing exploits for His kingdom. It is of vital importance to be plugged in to a body of believers that believe and act according to His WORD, becoming like a triple bonded cord, not easily broken! We are all individuals, but we are ONE body. Not one person is less, or more than the other. It takes the whole body to be healthy, effective, and strong working together to fulfill the purposes God has called us to. Father, help us to be bold and confident in You, not tossed back and forth in our opinions, or doubt Your ability to fulfill all that You have destined for Your people. Let us be bold, and diligent, working together for the Kingdom of God.