40 Days of Purpose Preview
What on Earth Am I Here For?
We'll answer this question and more during our 40 Days of Purpose Journey.
Join us for this daily preview!
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, Thank You for the truth of Your word, the Bible! I praise You that You want us to know more about You and to know You more. I thank You that You don’t desire a “blind” faith in my life, but rather an informed trust, based on the reality of Your interaction with humanity down through the ages, from the time when You created us. I pray that You will fill me with the Holy Spirit today, that I may remember the words I read in Your word, and that I may apply them in my living moment by moment. I pray for those this day who have never heard Your truth, or who have, but haven’t yet received it as the ultimate truth in life. I pray that You will use me today and always as a light to others that they may see You in me, and give You all the glory and praise. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Bible Verses
1 Kings 18:7-19
7As Obadiah was walking along, he saw Elijah coming toward him. Obadiah recognized him at once and fell 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 I am here.” 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? 10For 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 when he was told, ‘Elijah isn’t here,’ King Ahab forced the king of that nation to swear to the truth of his claim. 11And now you say, ‘Go and tell your master that Elijah is here’? 12But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the LORD will carry you away to who knows where. When Ahab comes and cannot find you, he will kill me. Yet I have been a true servant of the LORD all my life. 13Has no one told you, my lord, about the time when Jezebel was trying to kill the LORD’S prophets? I hid a hundred of them in two caves and supplied them with food and water. 14And now you say, ‘Go and tell your master that Elijah is here’? Sir, if I do that, I’m as good as dead!” 15But Elijah said, “I swear by the LORD Almighty, in whose presence I stand, that I will present myself to Ahab today.” 16So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come, and Ahab went out to meet him. 17“So it’s you, is it—Israel’s troublemaker?” Ahab asked when he saw him. 18“I have made no trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the LORD and have worshiped the images of Baal instead. 19Now bring all the people of Israel to Mount Carmel, with all 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who are supported by Jezebel.”
Reflecting on Discipleship
Have you ever been in a situation where you had to stand up to an authority figure and tell them that you were doing so because of your understanding that you were doing God’s will. If so, what was the outcome?
Exploring Discipleship
What was Obadiah’s fear regarding Elijah? (18:7-14)
How did Ahab and Elijah differ on the cause of trouble in Israel? What was the truth? (18:15-19)
Understanding Discipleship and My Purpose
What was it in Elijah’s background or training that allowed him to stand up to King Ahab and tell the truth about the cause of trouble in Israel?
Why do you think that Elijah was unwilling to back down even though Ahab had the power to imprison or execute him?
Applying Discipleship to My Daily Life
What do you find in today’s reading that you can apply in your life right now?
Elijah and Discipleship!
While today’s Scripture is not explicitly a teaching or discipleship text, we find that Elijah was able to show Ahab God’s truth in a situation, because he was committed to God’s truth in the first place. King Ahab attributed Israel’s troubles—primarily a famine which had been induced by a drought, which God had told Elijah to start, as a demonstration of God’s power and a call for the nation to repent—to Elijah. Elijah saw things differently. It was King Ahab and Queen Jezebel who had turned the nation away from God and towards the worship of Baal and Asherah, pagan fertility gods of the Canaanites. What better way to demonstrate the truth of God’s power than to send a drought—after all, one of the major things that Baal “promised” was the fertility of the ground. God’s drought showed the people who was truly in charge of fertility! As we picked up the account of Elijah’s life today, we see that this time of trial and trouble in Israel’s life was being attributed by Ahab to Elijah. Elijah was having none of that. He placed the blame squarely where it belonged—on Ahab’s shoulders. Elijah’s resolve came from his assurance that he was worshiping and serving the one, true God. Elijah demonstrated that he was, indeed, a true prophet and disciple of the living God by not backing down—even from the king, when he knew that God’s truth and power was behind him. We must also learn and stand on God’s truth each day in order for the world to see, that the Lord IS God now as He was then, that God’s truth IS eternal!
To view other preview studies from our 40 Days of Purpose Journey, click here.