Richard Roberts – Second of three Parts
What do you do when something really rattles you, when your mind is confused and unsettled? When the devil just reaches out and grabs you and jerks you around until your teeth rattle? When that happens to me, the story of Elijah in I Kings 18 and 19 puts me back on my feet again.
Elijah had issued a challenge to Queen Jezebel’s false prophets, asking for two bulls to be sacrificed — one prepared by the prophets of Baal and one by him. He told the prophets, “You call on your gods, and I’ll call on the name of the Lord. Whoever is the real God will answer by consuming the sacrifice with fire.”
So the prophets of Baal did their incantations and did everything they could think of to get their gods’ attention, but nothing worked. Finally it was Elijah’s turn. He poured water on his sacrifice, and God consumed it with fire! Then the people cried, “The Lord, He is God!”
However, just a few hours after this great victory, Elijah was out in the desert wishing he’d never been born! He was rattled, confused, and unsettled because Jezebel had put a death contract out on him. But God spoke to Elijah, saying, “Quit feeling sorry for yourself. Get down off the mountain and anoint Elisha to take your place as prophet in the land.” In other words, God was saying, “Get up and get on with your life, Elijah!” When Elijah heard God speak, he wasn’t rattled anymore.
It’s easy to have a pity party when things aren’t going right. But that’s when we can stand up strong and say, “It doesn’t matter what the circumstances say. We’re going to do what God has told us to do!” We don’t have to put up with the devil rattling us!
