Now Elijah the
Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel,
lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except
by my word.” 1 Kings 17:1If I tell you I’m going to something and then I don’t do it - and I do
that again and again and again – are you going to trust me? Of course not. But
if I tell you that I’m going to do something and then that’s exactly what I do
- and I do that often enough – you’ll be likely to trust that I’ll do what I
say… even if you don’t like what I tell you I’m going to do.
Yesterday we learned that Ahab was a wicked
king and a wicked man, because he trusted in the wrong things. God wants Ahab to trust him. So He sends
Elijah with this basic message of some strong consequences for Ahab: “Trust me on this I’m going to make life VERY uncomfortable for
you. Until Elijah comes to you again,
there will be no rain nor dew on the land.” 1 Kings 17:1
Every year farmers watch anxiously to see
how much rain will fall on crops. If
there’s too much, the crops drown. If
there’s too little, some of those crops dry up and die. BUT if there’s no rain at all… ALL the crops
will die. The book of James tells us that “Elijah was a man just like us. He
prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for
three and a half years.” James 5:17
Three and a half years without
rain is a looooong time. Three ½ years
of drought is enough to turn a paradise into a wasteland. Three ½ years of dryness can make men and
kings desperate enough to do anything to change the weather… even kill a
prophet. So, God sent Elijah into hiding.
Ahab didn’t trust God and there
were huge consequences, not just affecting him, but lots of other people
too. It is hard to trust God sometimes
when there are people standing in front of you offering what you need,
sometimes literally putting it in your hand.
But the help they are providing is temporary and there may be massive
consequences. So why don’t we just have
the self-control to say no to the wrong people and things and trust God? There
are several reasons why people end up not trusting God or His word:
·
Sometimes, people refuse to trust
God’s Word, because they want a God they can understand. If they can’t
understand something abonout Him it can’t be true. They want their God to be
able to fit into their small box. They put walls around Him and tell Him – you
can’t exist outside of this.
·
Other times people refuse to trust
God and His Word because (like King Ahab) they’ve listened to the wrong people.
They’ve spent time with skeptics and scoffers who have made them ashamed of
their faith and doubt their God.
·
Other times people refuse to trust
God’s Word because they’ve been hurt. God didn’t help them like they wanted Him
to when they needed it, and because of that incident(s) they turn their back on
God.
·
Still other people refuse to trust
God’s Word because they’re into sin. They’ve done things they shouldn’t do and
because God’s Word condemns their particular behavior or lifestyle they try to
disarm God. They try to blunt his right to judge them. because IF God’s Word is
wrong on something they can ignore it as being unreliable in all things.
King Ahab didn’t trust the God of Israel but turned in trust to other
gods… and suffered for it. If you can’t trust God you gotta trust something. SOMETHING
has to step in where God has been thrown out. Without God the only standard of TRUST
- of right and wrong - is what appeals to you and that’s a dangerous way to
live.Scripture to Claim: Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! Psalm 40:4 ESV
