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Running For Our Life

by Kathy Ledbetter  
1/23/2015 / Devotionals

The worship of Baal had become the new fad. The children of God turned to idolatry. Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, saw to it that the Prophets of God were killed. God called Elijah to defeat the Prophets of Baal. He did what he was asked, magnificently. As a result, all the Prophets of Baal, were killed. God and Elijah had a victory that put Elijah on the list of most favored and talked about prophets. (I Kings 18:20-45)

Evil does not give up easily. When Ahab tells his wife Jezebel what has happened to her beloved Prophets of Baal, she becomes enraged. She sent word to Elijah that he will suffer the same fate. Evil is now chasing after Elijah. (I Kings 19:1-2)

Elijah panics and runs for the wilderness. He is scared and makes the decision that he would rather sit under a broom tree and die, than continue living. In his mind he is finished, washed up, defeated, depressed and done (I Kings 19:3-4). Isn't that what happens? Though we see God do wonderful things in our lives, at the first sign of trouble we run for the desert!

God sent an angel to minister to Elijah, there under that pitiful tree. He eats, rests and eats more. He is in a better frame of mind. The angel directs him to Mount Horeb, where God will meet him. (I Kings 19:5-8)

Elijah spends the night in a cave, waiting. It is on the mount that God passes by and poses a question to Elijah. "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He begins lamenting the sad details of his story. No one believes, they have torn down your altars, killed your prophets and I am the only one left. They are coming for me!

Thought For Today:
Have you ever thrown yourself a pity party? I have held a few. Things happen in life. We run from the trials, the sorrows, the defeat, work stress, health issues, lost jobs, lost financial security, lost relationships. We find our "tree", the bed, a dark room, a hiding place and cry out our own declaration. "Where are You God? I have loved You, tried to tell others about You, read Your words, talked to You daily, but here I am. I am alone, defeated and afraid. All the required ingredients of a first class pity party. It happens in the interim between our crisis and God's answer. It is the time of silence, when we don't feel Him present in our crisis. His silence is not defeat. He is preparing a solution. He will come.

God came to Elijah in his misery. He fed him and gave him time to rest, and then sent him back out into the world that he had run from. He gave him new instructions to anoint new kings who would lead Israel away from idol worship. He also assured him that he was leaving seven thousand in his midst who had not worshipped Baal.

Though we often feel alone, God is there under the tree of fear with us. After rest and feeding on His word, we need to get up and get on with our life. We need to enter the field of battle against evil with the good news of Christ. In our day there are certainly more than seven thousand believers in Jesus. There are millions. We are all standing in spirit and message. Together we prayerfully wait to see the glory of the Lord. Together we stand against what the enemy means for our destruction.

Scripture For Today:
I Kings 19:9-10
9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

10 So he said, "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." (NKJV)

Prayer For Today:

Hello Father! We are so thankful that You come to us when fear and despair overtake us. You feed us, give us rest and draw us back out from under the broom trees of our wilderness. We have renewed faith and energy to keep going. Give us the courage of Elijah to get up, go back out and to speak. Jesus Christ lives and is going to return. Salvation is free to all who seek. Thank You Father that You do not give up on us. Forgive us of our sins. In Jesus' name. Amen.

I celebrate fifty years married to the love of my life in January 2017. We have two beautiful daughters, son-in-laws and four precious grandchildren. I love to study God's word and write about His love for us.

(C) 2015 Kathy Ledbetter All Rights Reserved
www.hellofatherdevotionals.com

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