26 June 2024 – What have I learned today?
1 Kings Chapter 18: Verses 42-44 (NIV)
So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
“Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
“There is nothing there,” he said.
Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”
Elijah prayed, but we don’t know what. Nor do we know what God’s response to him was. But he had faith and sent his servant to look towards the sea. We don’t know what the conversation was each time Elijah said “Go back.” I wonder if the servant’s faith was as strong as Elijah’s? He was certainly obedient! And we don’t know how much time passed until the time that the servant saw the cloud. But we do know that Elijah (and the servant) persisted. And God answered Elijah’s prayer.
God looks for persistence. He had promised, through Elijah, that it would not rain again till Elijah prayed. (Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to 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) Elijah stood on that promised, but over the three years he had to be persistent. Things weren’t easy for him, and he had periods of doubt and discouragement – just as we sometimes do.
God expects us to persist and hold on to what He has promised us. We might have to wait three years or more, and we may not see instant answers to our prayers. However, if we are as obedient as Elijah and his servant, we will see God’s promise to us fulfilled. But we mustn’t give up. If we do, it may well delay the fulfilment of God’s promise. Imagine if Elijah had given up after the fourth occasion. We can trust God. Let’s show Him that we do.
Dear Lord,
Thank You for the example of Elijah, who we know the Bible tells us was a man just like us. Help me to be as persistent as he was. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.