The Plan Formed

Many times in our own experience we long to hear a clear unambiguous message from God that will set a direction for our future. We want to hear from him that we should go here or there and say this or that, then things would be so much simpler. But he often doesn't tell us the details of his plan, but he does make clear the objective. How will plans be formed in your mind? God may give you the strategy and all the details of his plan, but he may not and in fact history suggests that he probably won’t. God intends that you participate in his planning process; he wants you to actively consider how you can you can use the resources, gifts and abilities at your disposal to fulfill the goals he has established.

Elijah was commanded to present himself to Ahab with a message of good news – the rains were coming. Given that Ahab was scouring the countryside, looking for Elijah so that he could kill him, that the journey was long and arduous and he had only had God’s word that it was going to rain, it would have been reasonable to show some reticence in obeying the command. But Elijah went. What is the specific message that God has given you? Do you have a burden on your heart but are waiting for all the details of the plan to be in place before you move? Has God given you a vision, but rather than simply act in response to it, you are waiting for the budget to be established, the resources to be allocated and the fine detail to be determined? Sometimes the only appropriate response to the command of God is immediate obedience. Rather than waiting until we think the time is right we need to start moving. Plans can be formed on the way to our destination; sometimes we do need to be flexible enough to respond to changing circumstances. We need to have the courage to take God at his word and start toward the goal, trusting him to direct our footsteps as the plans are formed in our minds.

Elijah finally met with Ahab and delivered his message. His plans were in place, but now he had to surrender them onto the hands of others, and these others had not proved to be very trustworthy. Few of us have the opportunity of seeing plans come to fruition without having to enlist the support of others and this frequently means that at some stage we lose control. The responsibility for the plan passes into the hands of others and all we can do is wait while things happen. This can be a frustrating time.

Most achievers are uncomfortable with times of inactivity or waiting. The Bible reveals that Elijah spent a lot of time waiting and it appears he didn't always know what was coming next or when it was going to happen. Many of the other heroes of the bible spent years in limbo waiting for the fulfillment of a promise. I doubt that they found that experience any less frustrating than we do. What do we do when we are forced to surrender our plans into the hands of others and stand by while they fulfill their responsibilities? When Elijah gave his plans to Ahab he had to rely on him doing what was probably out of character, but It was necessary for the fulfillment of Elijah’s plans that Ahab send the order; imagine some leader receiving a command from Elijah to leave whatever they were doing and to travel through the wilderness in a drought to meet at Mount Carmel. They may well have said ‘Elijah who?’ and just ignored the summons, but when Ahab summoned them, they came. Often times our plans require the involvement of others because they have the power or influence with men and women that we do not. They may have skills that we lack or access to services that we do not and so we rely on them to implement the strategies we have planned.

How did Elijah spend his time while he was waiting for the others to arrive? He was probably already on Mt Carmel, but it would have taken some time for the orders to be delivered throughout the land and even longer for everybody to respond to the summons for them to attend. Did Elijah use this time to wait in a cave in prayer? Was he laying out his plans before God going through every detail and making sure nothing had been overlooked? The bible is silent about this; all we know is that when the others arrived he was ready.

When you have launched some initiative that you are convinced is God’s plan for you and you have got to that stage in the process where you have to rely on the work or involvement of others, often all you can do is wait. Sometimes those others don’t share your enthusiasm or passion, and other things may claim first priority on their time and energy and so you may become frustrated and even irritable. If God had chosen you to initiate some plan or purpose of his you may well find yourself living in the meantime while you wait for others to do what you are convinced they should.  Waiting in the meantime is not easy but It is in this meantime that your character will be formed and God’s plans will  come to maturity.

The Silent Witness

While Elijah stayed in Zarephath during the drought things got pretty tough in Samaria. So much so that King Ahab called Obadiah, his governor and gave him instructions to help him to go and find some water. Obadiah had a reputation as a God fearing man, he had hidden a hundred prophets in the days when Queen Jezebel was expelling them from the land. He had fed these prophets with bread and water while they remained safe in a cave away from Jezebel’s gaze. He was in charge of Ahab’s entire household and no doubt had a good deal of influence and power in the palace.

Obadiah had been given a significant place of influence, but did he fear the king of Israel more than the King of kings? Was he more concerned for his position and status than in remaining true to his faith? It is true that his silence and secrecy had preserved the lives of one hundred prophets but how many had been killed by Jezebel because of that same silence? Had God placed him in the palace so that he could quietly influence Ahab behind the scenes or was he there so that he could be a fearless and righteous witness? There are many instances of men who have been placed in positions of enormous influence in pagan kingdoms. We may think of Joseph or Daniel, Ezra or Nehemiah, or even Queen Esther, but in each of these cases it was their fearless behaviour that provided the opportunity for God’s plans to be put in place. There is nothing to indicate that Obadiah did anything to turn Ahab from his sin or to encourage him to seek God’s forgiveness and therefore end the drought.

What is the appropriate way for Christians in positions of influence to behave? Should they keep their heads down and do what good they can without drawing attention to themselves or should they boldly take a stand for their faith and run the risk of losing their position? There is no question that there have been times in history when Christians have risen to positions of influence in tyrannical regimes and because of their status have been able to do much good, but there are also many instances where Christians have been so concerned about their own power and prestige that their witness has been wishy-washy at best.

As Obadiah went on his way looking for grass he met Elijah coming the other way. He immediately recognized Elijah and fell on his face. Nothing is mentioned about how well these two knew each other, here was Obadiah, governor over all of Ahab’s household and on the other hand there was Elijah a rough shepherd from Tishbe now known as the prophet who had brought about the drought in Israel. Had they met before, perhaps on the occasion when Elijah faced Ahab, or were there other encounters? We don’t know, but Obadiah set aside all the pomp of his royal office and fell at Elijah’s feet addressing him as Lord.

Elijah didn’t seem too impressed with Obadiah, his status or the adulation he offered and rather than accept his greeting as Lord, he told him to go back to the one who was in fact his Lord, Ahab. He was to give him a simple message – ‘tell him Elijah is here’. Elijah wasn’t fooled, while Obadiah called him Lord, he knew where his allegiance really lay – back in the palace with King Ahab. He didn’t offer any recognition to his role as governor and the text doesn’t even suggest that Elijah bothered to tell him to get up – he may have of course, but the passage is silent about this. He didn’t engage in conversation, just gave him a message.

Obadiah wasn’t too impressed with the message that he was given, he was afraid that when he went to the king Elijah would disappear. He even suggested that the Spirit of the Lord would mysteriously transport him to some far off place. Obadiah went so far as to suggest that this was some ploy of Elijah to punish him for some imagined sin. Was there a touch of guilt in Obadiah’s argument? Was he embarrassed by his own presence in Ahab’s palace while Elijah was hiding out in Zarephath? Was he seeking to justify himself? In fact Obadiah went on remind Elijah of how he had hidden the prophets and now he was going to be sent to his death. Wasn’t this all a bit unfair?

The exaggerated language and overstatements of Obadiah seem to suggest a man dealing with a guilty conscience. When we are challenged about a course of action we have taken or confronted by some questionable moral behaviour our usual response is to seek some means of justification. We may refer to some good we have done, or the unreality of the expectations placed on us, we may even find others to blame for the circumstances we find ourselves in, but unfortunately too rarely do we accept the censure that is either real or implied and confess our failure. Obadiah had an opportunity to put right what seems to be a failure. He had the chance to go to Ahab and announce the presence of Elijah. Maybe even speak about the righteousness of God and the possible end to the drought. But he was concerned about his own potential loss, not only of his status and position but his life. Obadiah had been a silent, perhaps even secret witness and now his true colours were about to be exposed, rather than rejoice that the end of the drought may have been coming, he was afraid.

When Obadiah was confronted by Elijah he reminded him of his testimony. The only problem is that Obadiah’s testimony was a little old. It was probably at least three years since this event took place and even if he was continuing to hide the prophets, and feed them it was the result of an action taken over three years previously. Like many men and women today, Obadiah had a reputation for having done a good deed, in fact his actions were particularly meritorious, but it was some time ago. Was he in danger of living off his testimony? Was he depending on the fact that the religious community knew of his former good works and remembered him for this, while there was nothing in his more recent experience that he could talk about?

We can all recall those great achievements of the past and regale our hearers with tales of ‘I remember when…’ And if we are talking to younger people it will be ‘when I was your age’ and so on. Nobody is impressed with endless accounts of performances that are located in history, we don’t want to know how good you were. What people want to know is; what are you doing now? What victories have you achieved this week or at least this year? Too often as Christians we rely on spiritual victories of years gone by as justification for the respect we think we deserve in the present.

Obadiah had done a courageous thing and he was known for it. But that was some time ago, what had he done recently? What about you?  You may be able to point to some occasion in the past when you led someone to the Lord, or prayed for healing and saw it take place. You may have been involved in some mission or Christian endeavour and been congratulated on your role in its success, but what have you done lately? Is it possible that, like Obadiah, when you are challenged or questioned in some way you are forced to recall an event that took place years before? Is your testimony current or is it located in the past?

If God commits a message to you to deliver to a person of influence, perhaps a political or community leader, maybe a pastor or even your boss or the owner of your company how will you respond? Will your previous silence be exposed, will the concern you have for your own potential loss immobilize you or will your testimony stand up as you confidently go in the power and authority entrusted to you?

The Place of Preparation

God had great things in store for Elijah, but he needed moulding and preparing. This process had started at Brook Cherith and now was to continue in the home of a poor, destitute widow in a foreign land. Elijah had been stripped of all the things that were familiar to him. He had been removed from the sheep and hills of Tishbe and taken via Samaria and a dwindling brook to a town named after a smelter. The brook that he had come to rely on had run dry, his calling and authority as a prophet of Israel was of little value in the heathen town of Zarephath and his reputation counted for nothing. All the things that Elijah had relied on for his strength; his own inner resources, his religious calling and life, his resourcefulness were all stripped away, he was not the centre of attention, and there was no obvious ministry for him, In Zarephath he was just a shepherd from out of town looking for a handout. Elijah was going to be prepared in the home of a widow and her son, among ordinary, everyday cares and concerns and in the middle of real need.

The widow and her son were in difficult circumstances. There had been a famine for some time and she was down to the ingredients for her last meal. There was no social security system in Zarephath and it does not appear that she had friends or family to draw on. Now a houseguest arrives insisting that she feed him out of her last remaining food supply. The widow fully expected to die, the prospect of watching her son starve to death in front of her must have been devastating and yet she responded to Elijah’s request and provided for him. Few, if any of us would have experienced the enormity of the distress this woman would have felt and yet all of us understand the pressures of having to cope with the demands of the world with meagre resources. The pressure on relationships and frayed emotions when added demands are placed on us cause us to act in ways we would rather not, and the atmosphere of the home can be anything but calm and peaceful. But this is the home that Elijah was called to.

There was no male figure, apart from the son, in the home and the fact of Elijah living there may have raised some questions among the neighbours. On top of this there is no record of Elijah having any experience as a father or family man and now he was going to live with this woman and her son for some time. He was going to be forced to deal with all the challenges of home life without the benefit of being eased into it. How was he expected to cope with the burdens of being part of a home in difficult circumstances? What preparation did he have for dealing with the highly charged emotional atmosphere of a single mother and her son coping with every day needs when they didn’t have the resources to meet them? How was Elijah going to conduct himself and maintain his testimony as a righteous man?

Most of us are familiar with the demands of every day home life. They can be frustrating and challenging. Things don’t always go as they are planned and not everyone in the household shares the same dreams and expectations. How do we maintain our faith and vision while coping with the pressures of home life? The way we do it reflects the real character of our Christian life and it is how well we conduct ourselves there that will determine how much God can use us in the ministry he has prepared for us. Most of us know how much easier it is to be spiritual in our place of ministry or service than it is at home. Home is where everybody knows what we are really like, it is where our patience is tested, where our frustration levels rise and where annoyance gives way to irritation and quickly becomes anger. Home is where we are when the bills seem overwhelming, when those we say we love seem to be able to say just the wrong thing at the wrong time and when the last argument leaves us bitter and resentful. But home is also the place of refuge, the place where we run when everything seems to be going wrong, where people forgive our indiscretions. Home can be a place of refreshment but it is certainly a place of testing.

The home that Elijah was to live in was beset with great difficulties and problems, probably beyond those we have experienced and it was the ideal preparation for him. The widow is unknown beyond the pages of the bible, but Jesus testified of her, and elsewhere declared that whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the person who receives another because he is righteous will receive a righteous persons reward (Matthew 10:41). This woman’s reward would be great, in fact no less than Elijah’s own, but your reward is equally as great if your home is one in which others are prepared for the work of God’s kingdom. Does your home provide an atmosphere in which people are prepared for service? Are others received into your family or do they feel uneasy or even unwelcome? Is our care for our possessions greater than our willingness to receive strangers?

Elijah needed to be prepared for his encounters with the prophets of Baal and King Ahab by seeing the miracle working power of God in the home. It is your home that will not only prepare others for their work but will prepare you for the spiritual battles that you will face. The way you and I live in our home reveals our character and the depth of our spiritual life, the widow was able to say of Elijah ‘Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth’, what would your family testify of you?