Elijah: Faithful and Fearless

The word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth.” So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab.
–1 Kings 18:1-2

Elijah modeled faithful and fearless commitment to God. Some people respond to God’s call by saying, “Yes, I am all in for God. I will be faithful and fearless.” That was Elijah.

How did Elijah get from the widow’s house in Zarephath to standing on top of Mount Carmel before Ahab, Jezebel, and the Israelites? We find the answer in 1 Kings 18:1-2: “Now it happened after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, ‘Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth.’ So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria.” I want you to notice two things about Elijah. First of all, Elijah followed God faithfully. He had a steely resolve to transform his world instead of to conform to the world. Elijah demonstrated the truth of Romans 12:2, where Paul said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” That was Elijah.

Why was Elijah so faithful? He came to a point in his life where he decided he would rather please God than please man. If you are going to be faithful in your service to God, then you have to come to that commitment. Are you going to please God or please man? Usually, you can’t do both. Elijah followed God faithfully.

Second, Elijah obeyed God fearlessly. Every time God spoke, Elijah moved forward. In 1 Kings 17, when God told Elijah to go to King Ahab and make the pronouncement, Elijah didn’t say, “Let me pray about that, God. Let me read Scripture, and I’ll get back with you.” No, Elijah went immediately to King Ahab. When God then told him to go hide himself at the brook Cherith, Elijah obeyed immediately. Then he went to Zarephath immediately. Finally, the word of the Lord came to him in that widow’s house in Zarephath and told him to go back to King Ahab. Elijah obeyed God fearlessly.

Perhaps God has spoken to you about something you know you need to do. He is telling you to make that call to that person with whom you have a fractured relationship. Even if that person is responsible, God is telling you to take that first step. God may be telling you to break off a relationship that you know is hazardous to your spiritual health. God may be telling you to say yes to that job opportunity even though it is risky. Obeying God fearlessly and faithfully for you may mean giving a gift to God’s work that on the surface seems absurd. When people are all in to their commitment to God, they obey God faithfully and fearlessly, like Elijah.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Secret #4: Decide to Burn the Ships” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2017.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.