Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead said to [King] Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word." — 1 Kings 17:1
I have always admired Elijah. He had guts. I imagine that Elijah made this announcement on an afternoon dark with clouds, that his words were punctuated with thunder and lightning, and that everyone laughed as Ahab dismissed him as a crackpot who somehow got by the palace guard. I don’t know, of course, but that’s what I picture. And I suppose that after the storm blew over without leaving any moisture, people began to wonder at the coincidence.
Elijah appeared out of nowhere. We don’t know anything about his parents, his teachers, his mentors — if he had any. As far as we know, he wasn’t even a blip on the radar screen until the nation started feeling the truth of his words. He acted alone, and the story later reveals that he felt all alone.
But God had a plan. He sent Elijah, this obscure, unknown prophet, to King Ahab because God would not stand idly by and watch the people He loved drift farther and farther away. God always has a plan. It may look like He has run out of resources, but He hasn’t.
Tucked away somewhere God has exactly what He needs to let the people He loves know that He is alive and well and is wooing them back to Himself.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active member of Lake City Church in Madison. This devotional is also available via email and you may review the archives back to 2002. To contact Dwight or Kim, use their contact form. You may also support their ministry.