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| Photo Credit: Clip Art |
The mighty man of
Israel had just killed 400 prophets of Baal.
Just in case you don’t know what a big deal that is, think of it as one
man standing up against the armies deployed by the president of your country.
Dangerous isn’t?
Yeah right!
Well, the signs and
wonders of the amazing man of God isn’t really what we want to zoom in on
today. So let’s delve right into the gist.
When you get a
vision from God, there would be moments of great victories often preceded by
challenges. In the case of Elijah, the vision was to ensure that the nation of
Israel was faithful to the God who brought them out of bondage.
This vision was
directly challenged by the wicked rule of the king called Ahab and his powerful
wife Jezebel. They had introduced the worship of Baal to the Israelites and
were beginning to take over the spiritual atmosphere of the Land. Elijah found
this annoying as it was against the plan of God.
So he staged a
public challenge against the prophets of Baal. God honoured his dare by answering
by fire and Elijah had the prophets of Baal killed. (1 Kings 18:36-45)
The news got to
Jezebel and she swore to kill Elijah by that time tomorrow.
Amazement
number one
Elijah ran into the
wilderness at the news of Jezebel’s threat.
What do you think
made a mighty man run in the face of a threat?
You guessed correctly
that it might be FEAR.
But was Elijah really afraid? What exactly was he afraid of? Was it death?
I certainly believe
that he wasn’t afraid of death because at the wilderness (a crazy place to be
in the first place), Elijah asked God to take his life because he was tired. (1
Kings 19:4)
So if he really
wanted to die, why did he run from Jezebel?
One thing was true;
He lost sight of the big picture.
The
big picture
Light and darkness
are in constant battle for man’s soul. Jezebel was only a representative of
darkness as much as Elijah was a representative of light.
These forces have
distinct agenda and will stop at nothing to see it established. Nevertheless,
light will always prevail because darkness can’t stand it (John 1:15)
So why didn’t Elijah
remember that this wasn’t really about him?
You
see, the art of objectivity is the greatest source of sanity in the face of a
threat. You must master it.
According to an
online dictionary, Objectivity is the quality of being objective (not
influenced by personal feelings or opinions).
Elijah lost this
important skill that was why he fled in the face of Jezebel’s threat.
How It Connects With You And I
Have you ever stood
up for righteousness when everyone else is choosing the path of darkness? If
you have, you will understand how lonely it feels sometimes.
Elijah felt alone (1
kings 19:10). That’s why he fled.
In these last days,
we are still up against the threat of Jezebel. In revelation 2:20, scripture
reveals her works
·
Self acclaimed prophetess
·
Misleads God’s servant into sexual
immorality
·
Influences God’s people to eat meals
sacrificed to idols
·
Leading God’s servant into adultery
with her
For want of time, I
will not dissect this scripture. I will just work on another post dedicated to
the spirit of Jezebel.
However, I need us
to see that the “craze” for ungodliness happening in our generation is the
spirit of Jezebel at work. She threatens those who want to stand for
righteousness, making them afraid of living boldly for Christ. She does this
through the policies of our various nations and the laws of our lands. Year in,
year out she continues to inspire lawmakers to favour satanic agenda while threatening
the children of God.
We are fast
approaching an age of great turmoil. One in which many will not only abandon their
assignments/vision/purpose/calling for fear of their lives but they will deny
Jesus the Christ.
#Ponder
We would have
moments when we think we are alone because we are the outspoken ones on that “issue”
or because we are consistently doing it the right way when everyone else doesn’t
give a damn. But we are never alone. The truth is, those on God’s side will
always be more even if we don’t know them.
Just as God said, “I
have seven thousand others who haven’t bowed to Baal” (1 kings 19:18); He also
has other believers who are standing with you even though you can’t see them.
So when you are
standing up for righteousness and Satan or his agents threaten to pull the bed
from under you. What do you do?
EMPLOY
THE ART OF OBJECTIVITY
How do you do so?
1. Remember Why You Chose To Stand
Up For Or Walk In Righteousness In The First Place.
Was
it your cause or God’s cause? Was it to please the Lord or to make a name for you?
Now,
if it was God’s cause and it was for his pleasure, no need to fear honey
because the purpose of God cannot fail. In Isaiah 46:10 God says, “My purpose will
stand and I will do all that I please”!
2.
Remind
Yourself That God Is The Real Lion Not The Enemy.
Scripture
says, the enemy goes about like a
roaring lion. This means he really isn’t a lion. The real lion is Jesus! Revelation
5:5 confirms that when it says, “Do not weep! See, the lion of the tribe of
Judah has triumphed”! (NIV paraphrased)
Come
on now honey! Our king already won the enemy. He (the enemy) is already defeated that’s why
he is threatening.
The
purpose of threats is to make you scared. It is to throw you off balance.
Why
didn’t Jezebel just send men to kill Elijah? Why did she have to pre-inform him
first? Obviously she needed to scare him because fear is the police of
darkness.
So
it looks like you will lose your job for walking in righteousness right? It looks
like they might kill you or your children? Don’t worry love, they can only hurt
the body but not your soul (Mathew 20:28) and your soul is the real thing the
enemy is after. So don’t let him nor his agents have the pleasure of watching you
show fear!
3.
Pull
Up Your Chronicles
A
chronicle is a factual written account or historical events in the order of
their occurrence. You certainly have a
chronicle of God's wonders i your life in time past. It just mayn’t be written.
What
about times when God showed up for you? Times when you “feared so and so” but the
Lord prevented it?
You
see, that’s where Elijah missed it. He forgot about the times when he provoked
famine on the land for three solid years and brought a heavy down pour at his
word! (1 kings 18). Wasn’t Jezebel there? What about the time when he called
fire from above to consume the 3-batches of armies sent by Ahab to bring him (2
kings 1:9-13)?
To
tell you that God was indeed aware of the threat and Elijah’s new location, he
sent an angel to make him a meal in the wilderness (1 kings 19:7). Hmm, Elijah
must have been really important such that Angels cooked for him right? Not
really. The agenda of God was very important therefore Elijah needed to be
taken care of because he was a stake holder (that’s what we really are). So if
God has to use an angel, He will!
It
was this same Elijah that got fed by a raven with burger during a famine he
caused (1 kings17:2-6)!
I
believe there are several other amazing wonders God did through and for Elijah
that weren’t written in the bible. So why did Elijah suddenly fear Jezebel?
He
didn’t consult his chronicles!
When
we sit down to think about how far God has brought us, we will be assured of
the truth that He never leaves His own! This knowledge will give you confidence
to stay put when the enemy threatens.
4.
Recognize
Your Role:
Don’t
get it twisted! You are not the miracle worker or the powerful one. JESUS is!
You
are only an instrument. Therefore, we must not make the mistake of comparing
the enemy’s representative and us. We are more powerful than “Jezebel and her
threat” because He that is in us is greater than he that it in the world! (1 John
4:4)
Elijah
felt he was the doer and so he got tired. That’s why God had to tell him, “look
man, I’m the one behind your boldness and I’ve got many others on this path of
righteousness. Anyway, since you are tired of being used; please go anoint Elisha
to take your place, Jehu to rule as King over Israel and Hazael as King over
Aram”!
God
showed him that this was about an Agenda and he could use anyone to complete
the task.
So
darling, it is never about us!
Weakness
and fear comes in the face of threat
when we forget that it is God who works in us to will and do of His good Pleasure(Philippians
2:13)
5.
Know
Who Is Been Challenged
It
is not you that the enemy is coming against. He is coming against God.
Therefore, you mustn’t fret about his threats. This why I love David!
Remember
when Goliath threatened Israel? When
David got on the scene he quickly spotted who was being attacked. He knew
Goliath wasn’t challenging Israel but the
God of Israel and so he said, “who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he
should defy the armies of God?” 1 Samuel 17:26
David
knew it wasn’t about them!!
I
shared some lessons on that historic fight here
When you do these
five things in the face of threats, you will be bold enough to remain in your assignment!
“Look,
I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according
to what they have done” Revelation 22:12
HOLD
YOUR GROUND!!
May the Lord
preserve us!!
Committed to your Fulfillment
Anne Atulaegwu
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| Anne Atulaegwu |
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