Elijah is Here

1 Kings 18:1 Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!” 2 So Elijah went to appear before Ahab. Meanwhile, the famine had become very severe in Samaria. 3 So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Obadiah was a devoted follower of the Lord. 4 Once when Jezebel had tried to kill all the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had hidden 100 of them in two caves. He put fifty prophets in each cave and supplied them with food and water.) 5 Ahab said to Obadiah, “We must check every spring and valley in the land to see if we can find enough grass to save at least some of my horses and mules.” 6 So they divided the land between them. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. 7 As Obadiah was walking along, he suddenly saw Elijah coming toward him. Obadiah recognized him at once and bowed low to the ground before him. “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?” he asked. 8 “Yes, it is,” Elijah replied. “Now go and tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”

As I shared in my blog yesterday God is all about providing for His people. Take the example of the prophet Elijah and how God showed His great power through this man of faith. As the scripture says in the above verses that a drought had continued on for three years and then God said to Elijah these famous words of provision. the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain! God was all about providing and He sent His prophet Elijah with the news of hope. So Elijah went to appear before Ahab and the famine continued to get more and more severe. Ahab sent for Obadiah to go and search every nook and cranny to look for grass so they might save some of his horses and mules. So Ahab went to look in one half of the land and Obadiah went and looked in the other half. So Obadiah is walking along and who does he see, but Elijah?

Obadiah bowed low before the great prophet and could hardly believe his eyes. Elijah firmly identified himself and told Obadiah to go and tell Ahab that "Elijah is here!" Here are the words of Obadiah in 1 Kings 18:9 “Oh, sir,” Obadiah protested, “what harm have I done to you that you are sending me to my death at the hands of Ahab?10 For I swear by the Lord your God that the king has searched every nation and kingdom on earth from end to end to find you. And each time he was told, ‘Elijah isn’t here,’ King Ahab forced the king of that nation to swear to the truth of his claim.11 And now you say, ‘Go and tell your master, “Elijah is here.”’

As you read, Obadiah was doubting that God would truly come through Elijah and that God might send him away just when they needed Him the most. Why? There was a time during the drought when Ahab was looking for Elijah and they would have to tell Ahab Elijah wasn't to be found and Ahab would make it rough on Obadiah and the others in the palace. So Obadiah did not want to mention the name of Elijah and then God not come through by sending him to help. Obadiah had turned into a doubter and even though Elijah was there in the flesh, the doubt of Obadiah was the prevalent thought. So Elijah swore by the Lord Almighty that he would come to Ahab. Obadiah believed Elijah and went and told Ahab those very strong words "Elijah is Here!"

When Ahab saw Elijah he called him a troublemaker and Elijah said "I have made no trouble for Israel," and called Ahab and his family troublemakers because they refused to obey the commands of the Lord and chose to worship Baal. Elijah continued to drive home the point by saying in verse 21 Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent. God had sent Elijah to draw a line in the sand and call the people back to God and once again believe in His power to save and supply.

I sometimes feel like Obadiah when I still believe God will show up and that He wants to bless us and yet we don't experience it. As we think about the Christianity of today we see quite a bit of Baal worship involved in the mix and some of God, but there are troublemakers who continue to doubt and promote a powerless God. When Ahab was sending for Elijah he heard again and again Elijah is Not Here. This frustrated the king and he made it rough on all of his advisors, including Obadiah. Perhaps your faith has a little of the world and a little belief in God in it. If so, you have what James called a double-minded faith and that faith is unstable at every turn. James 1:6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.

We must be single-minded in our approach to our faith. We can't believe some of the Bible and some of the world and expect to see God. In fact, we might be like Ahab and send for God and have other religious people and leaders return and say God is Not Here. Tragic! Yes, I am calling on all of us to once again believe that God loves His children and He will provide. But we must believe and not waver, even though there are many troublemakers trying to cause us to doubt God. When God shows up in a situation you can believe the problem will be solved and God will be glorified. Are you prepared and believing for God to provide and bless as only He can do? Just remember, because of Jesus, when we need Him you can trust in The Word that says God is Here! When Jesus showed up at some place and there was a need, Jesus met the need and solved the problem. Jesus has not quit doing what He has always done. He is our Jehovah Jireh, our provider.

If someone tries to get you to doubt that God is Here, just remember what James wrote in James 1:16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. Since He chose us out of all creation to be His prized possession you can rely on the fact that God is Here and He is ready and willing to bless you. Don't ever compromise the power of God by not believing. Just read His Word, trust His Word, follow His Word, and the Word will show you great and mighty wonders.

The Pilgrimage Continues.

David Warren