This guest post was written just for me! It’s how I felt when it was sent to me from Duduzile N. who lives in South Africa. It’s a devotional centered around the life of Elijah. It is the third time the story of Elijah has been brought to my attention in a span of a few weeks. I was fortunate enough to meet Duduzile through my first book. She read it and sent me a very nice email. Go support her blog at http://prov31v29-dudu.blogspot.com. Enjoy!
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I Kings 18-19
Psalm 23
I am always encouraged when I find that Bible heroes are in many ways similar to us mere mortals. Ever read the story of Elijah? I am sure that some of you can recite it like a nursery rhyme. God has recently been ministering to me from the story of Elijah. To those who are not familiar with the story, Elijah was a prophet of God who was taken up to Heaven in a whirlwind. So he didn’t actually die and neither was he buried because he went directly to Heaven without tasting death. An interesting snippet from his life that I want to focus on is when he called all of Israel to Mt Carmel and challenged the prophets of Baal to pray to their god to come down and consume their sacrifices. The prophets of Baal spent the whole day calling on their god but he didn’t come to the party. Elijah then asked them to pour a lot of water on his sacrifice and God’s fire came down from Heaven and burnt it! Wow, talk about being on a first name basis with God!
The story doesn’t end there, Elijah then prayed for rain and rain came down from Heaven. You would think this is a strong man who would stand up to any challenge because after all he prays and God answers. What happens next is interesting. Elijah is threatened by Jezebel and runs for his life. You may ask what happened to his faith when he brought down fire and rain from Heaven. Sometimes we have our best moments but because we have an enemy who knows what will get us down, he strikes just in that moment of glory. The enemy strikes when we are celebrating and thinking, “phew was that me praying and getting rain and how did I pull that one off?” He knows just where to attack so we can run like cowards.
Elijah doubted himself but what he didn’t realise was that it wasn’t about him but about God, who was on his side. He says “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” Even more interesting is how God responds to Elijah, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” God knew what Elijah needed and provided it.
Afterwards Elijah camped in a cave but God called him out and told him to stand on top of a mountain so He could speak to him. I am blown away by what happens next. There is a wind, an earthquake and fire but the bible says there was a still small voice. Some translations call it a low whisper. Do we sometimes get caught up with the big events and miss God’s still small voice, that low whisper?
In the past I have been caught up in the wind breaking the rocks around me, the earthquake shaking my world upside down and the fire of pain that has pierced my heart. As a result, I almost missed that low whisper, that still small voice that says come away with me. Come dine with me, I prepare a table in the presence of your enemies. My rod and staff are your comfort.
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