The other night as I was lying in bed, the Lord spoke to me about the prophet Elijah.
In 1 Kings 18 Elijah has one of the greatest victories over evil in a spiritual battle and confrontation with the so-called prophets of Baal.
One Prophet of Yahweh vs. 450 prophets of Baal.
The CONTEST: Whose God can send Fire from Heaven to burn the Sacrifice?
Victory: Elijah
It is an amazing story as Elijah defeats the prophets of Baal. You should read it today!
If that were not enough, he then prophesies to the king that a 3-1/2 Year drought will now end with a great rain storm.
Victory: Elijah
But Wait! There's more!
He then runs 15 Miles from Mount Carmel to Jezreel FASTER than the king's horse and chariot!!
Victory: Elijah
Then we turn the page...to chapter 19.
The king tells his infamous wife, Queen Jezebel, that all her prophets were defeated and executed by Elijah. She is so furious she issues a Death Warrant on Elijah.
Elijah turns and runs for his life!
He finds himself in the wilderness. The Bible says in 1 Kings 19:4,
He prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!"
Wait a second. Isn't this Mr. Victory we are talking about? He just scored a Hat-trick on the devil!
Now he's running scared and wants to die?!!
Can you relate?
We go through times of God's blessing in our lives that can be quite amazing...but eventually challenges do arise.
I can imagine Elijah's victories, though exhilarating, left him drained and weary.
The Good News is that God was not going to leave Elijah in that state. He did not bring Elijah that far to leave him now.
An Angel came and ministered to him, feeding him and giving him a drink. This food was supernatural as he did not have to eat or drink again for 40 days!
He journeyed all the way to Mount Horeb, also known as, Mount Sinai, where Moses had received the 10 Commandments!
There he had another supernatural experience.
The Lord asked him, "What are you doing here Elijah?"
Elijah replied, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."
When we feel overwhelmed in life, we have a tendency to isolate ourselves from others and paint a picture of reality in our minds that is often exaggerated.
11 Then God said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord,
but the Lord was not in the wind;
and after the wind an earthquake,
but the Lord was not in the earthquake;
12 and after the earthquake a fire,
but the Lord was not in the fire;
and after the fire, a still small voice.
Again the Lord asks what Elijah is doing there. Elijah answers again with the same words of defeat.
However, God was not finished with Elijah! He gave him new direction and encouraged him that Elijah was NOT ALONE. There were actually 7,000 others still faithful to Yahweh!
Elijah went on to defeat his enemy, Queen Jezebel.
The Lord wants to bring us to Victory over our enemies as well! (Not people, but spiritual victory over our true enemy, the devil).
King David had written this Psalm; as I was meditating on the story of Elijah, I felt I received a new personal revelation about it.
Psalm 46:10 (NKJV)
Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
What the Holy Spirit showed me was first, what this DOES NOT mean.
To Be Still does not mean: Give Up
To Be Still does not mean: God will do whatever He wants so...Que Sera Sera
To Be Still does not mean: Stop Engaging your Faith
To Be Still and KNOW that He IS God, is to Still and Quiet your Emotions and Feelings and Thoughts that are contrary to the Promises of God and His Nature.
To quiet your Doubt and to come to the intimate knowledge of your Savior's willingness and plan to deliver and rescue you no matter what problems in life you are up against.
Most of us are not in the situation of an Evil Witch-Queen declaring a death sentence on us.
We cannot Know He is God when we are lead by our feelings.
Matthew 11:28 (NLT)
Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."
Be still.