Elijah & Obadiah

Have you ever studied these guys in the Bible? Well, I had not until recently. I was brought to tears at the end of the story. Let me tell ya why...


The author of the bible study compared Elijah to a mountain man. So, he comes down from the mountain and tells Ahab there won't be rain for 3 years due to their worshipping practices of Baal, etc. Then God tells Elijah to go by a stream and hide. Ravens - yes Ravens actually take care of feeding Elijah...really? Yes, Ravens, which seem to me to be pretty filthy animals.

Okay, so skip a few chapters...here's the part that was wonderful.

Elijah tells Obadiah (a Godly man that worked for Ahab, the most evil ruler at that time) that he needs to talk to Ahab. Elijah tells Ahab to meet him on Mt. Carmel with his priests and priestesses....all 850 of them. Okay, that's 850 against 1! Elijah tells them to sacrifice a cow and he'll do the same. They'll each have an altar upon which to lay their sacrifice. The first one God that brings fire to the altar is the one true God. Of course, the 850 pray and shout to their Baal. They cut themselves, etc... But is doesn't work. Elijah even tells them to pray louder...says maybe their god is sleeping. Still doesn't work. When it's time for Elijah's sacrifice, he wet it down, and even builds a trench around it, filling it with water. Of course, he was trying to prove his point ~ Our Father is Heaven is supreme and the ONLY one that could handle a job such as this....

Elijah prays his simple prayer : 1 Kings 18:36 - 37 ~ "O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." Verse 38 continues and tells us that "the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice..."

How Great is Our God? That's how great He is. I felt so humbled after reading that! I cried! After reading things like this, how can I EVER doubt that he can handle my measley problems in life?

In those moments when I am feeling insecure (that's from the devil) and lonely (that's from the devil, too), I just need to remember to give it all to God 'cause He handles it. He alone is my source of strength!

Okay, so thoughts???