Survival

    I don't know about you, but I hate just surviving.  It is like you are just waiting for the day that you die, the inevitable doom that you are afraid of, or or too afraid to live.  At the same time you are watching your dreams die, time passing you by, and trying to figure out how you got where your are.  Life is not a movie.  It will not always be exciting, but at the same time we all need things to look forward to.

    The cages in life come in all shapes and sizes: marriage, dead end job, inability to travel, national unrest, and so much more.  For Elijah it was a drought and a king that didn't care about the people.  He pushed through because he had a purpose.  His job was to tell God's Word.  He faced his fears and went back to face King Ahab.  

    As Elijah was returning he just happened to meet Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace, to face Elijah.  Obadiah was devout to God.  Obediah had taken it upon himself during his time of survival to hide God's prophets and took care of them because his boss's wife, Jezebel, was killing them all.  She hated everything to do with God.

    Obediah met Elijah on the road in a state of confusion.  He asked Elijah why he would ever consider being seen by the king again.  He feared for Elijah's life, but for his own too.  Every time he tried to save a life, it put his in jeopardy and Elijah wanted him to give King Ahab a message from Elijah.  Elijah was asking King Ahab to meet him on Mount Carmel.  Of course the rumar spread like wildfire.  It was the most exciting thing that had happened in years, so everyone showed up.

    King Ahab did meet Elijah, but not without his 850 prophets.  He wanted to test the gods to see whom was real: God vs. Baal.  It was Elijah versus 450 men.  Baal's prophets made an altar and sacrificed a bull.  They cried out to their silent god from morning to noon with no response.  It became tedious to watch, so Elijah began to taunt them about their god being asleep.  They began to mutilate their bodies in their desperation for their god to prove himself.  It all came to nothing.

    It became Elijah's turn he called the people near him.  The point was for them to have faith again.  He prepared his altar for the Living God.  He took 12 stones, one for each tribe, and then added wood and a bull.  He dug a trench around the altar.  Then he had others soak it all in water where the trenches were full.  Now remember there had been a drought for three years.  This was a big deal.  That was a lot of water to waste in the people's eyes, but it definitely got their attention.  

    Elijah prayed a simple prayer to God asking Him to reveal Himself.  God struck the wet wood with fire and it it burned with such intensity that you would have thought that it had been gasoline instead.  The sacrifice was consumed along with the wood, stones, and the soil around the altar.  The water in the trenches evaporated completely.  That day the people turned to God and all of Baal's prophets were killed.  It also rained.  God's power was upon Elijah because he did not just survive, he persevered.

    When you feel like you are just surviving, hold on a little longer.  Things are always changing.  You can pray over your perspective, but definitely pray specifically for something you desire in life.  Take action and start making changes to lead  to the life that you want.  There is no time in life to be passive or lazy.  You have to go for what you want and need the guidance of God to succeed.

1 Kings 18