Confidence

June 16

I Kings 17-18

Psalm 72:12-16

Proverbs 16:1-3

Acts 12

Confidence

“So, she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah. Then the woman, Elijah and her household ate for many days. The flour jar did not become empty, and the oil jug did not run dry, according to the word of the Lord He had spoken through Elijah.”

I Kings 17:15-16 HCSB

“At the time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, ‘Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel, and I am Your servant and that at Your Word I have done these things.”

I Kings 18:36 HCSB

One of the things that attracted me to Brian when we first met was his wit and that he is a bit of a smart aleck. I guess that is what I like about Elijah. I can just picture this event taking place on Mt. Carmel and it always makes me laugh. The reason that Elijah could be so calm and taunt the prophets of Baal was because he had complete confidence that God was the One and Only God and Baal could not do anything to him because he was not real. He knew that no matter how hard or loud they yelled and chanted, Baal could not hear them and answer because he did not exist. He also knew that God, his God, was real and He would answer. Elijah was able to stand alone against all the prophets of Baal because he had complete faith in God.

Elijah’s interaction with the widow at Zarephath also shows his complete faith in God. It is one thing to put your faith completely in God to provide for you, but it is another level of faith to be so confident in God that you put a widow and her son’s wellbeing on the line by asking them to provide food for you. He told the widow to make bread for him first and then she would have enough to make bread for her and her son as well. Taking the last bit of flour and oil that they had for himself revealed a confidence that God would continue to provide for them. Surprisingly, the widow did as he said and then the flour and oil jars never ran dry until the rain returned to the land.

Confidence in God in the face of insurmountable circumstances marked Elijah’s life. We too can have that type of confidence. We can be assured that God is the One and Only God. We can place our trust in Him because He will never let us down. He will provide for His children. He will answer us when we call, and He will help us stand firm in the face of difficulty. We need not shrink back in fear. Taunting and responding with a smart aleck attitude might not be the best idea, but we can definitely respond with confidence and faith with no fear that our God can’t or won’t come through for us.