In a Bible story with famous names like Elijah and Jezebel sits a key figure, King Ahab. Jezebel, his wife, was a lover of idolatry, her very name synonymous with wickedness and hatred of God. Elijah was her nemesis, a prophet of the Lord who served God as wholeheartedly as Jezebel served the devil. Between them was Ahab, and it is he who teaches us a very valuable lesson.
Every time Elijah or any other prophet of the Lord told him “thus saith the Lord,” Ahab believed it. And though God came through on every promise—victories over armies greater than Israel’s, drought and subsequent rain, fire to devour an offering to prove God was God—Ahab never served the LORD Who’d proven Himself trustworthy. Ahab’s worship was reserved for Jezebel’s gods, tangible carvings of wood and stone.
Repeatedly, God showed mercy to Ahab, and though Ahab received the blessings God provided, though he believed the Word of the Lord, his heart never responded to that mercy. Oh, he humbled himself in sackcloth and ashes, asking for God to graciously spare his life, but he never reverenced the One Who held all power and Who had proven Himself to be the only God, a God worthy of worship.
The spirit of Ahab rules our land today.
We recognize Jezebel. Evil. Loud. Take charge. Getting what she wants at all costs.
We can even point out Elijah. Bold. God-fearing. Proclaiming what God is doing and what He’s about to do.
But Ahab is still on many thrones. The king. The one who has the authority to turn things around. The one who sees clearly the power of God, but chooses other loves over that knowledge.
See, there’s a difference between acknowledging God and serving Him. There’s a difference between receiving from His hand and bowing to His authority. Believing Him is not a synonym for following Him. Knowing that God is God is not the same as surrendering to His lordship.
We are in danger of the spirit of Ahab--
Tip/Tidbit: Do you believe with your logic, or are you a believer with a surrendered heart and life? One small tip to begin shifting from believing with a head knowledge of God to a believing and followings Him wholeheartedly is to realize that God's Word is not an ordinary utterance; it is a divine outpouring of truth meant to guide us into relationship with the Almighty. Seeing God's Word as an extension of God Himself enables us to move from dissecting its text for lessons on success and moves us to obey, love, and trust its author. When we see God's communication of devoted love for us, we can respond with a heart willing to submit and follow.
Every time Elijah or any other prophet of the Lord told him “thus saith the Lord,” Ahab believed it. And though God came through on every promise—victories over armies greater than Israel’s, drought and subsequent rain, fire to devour an offering to prove God was God—Ahab never served the LORD Who’d proven Himself trustworthy. Ahab’s worship was reserved for Jezebel’s gods, tangible carvings of wood and stone.
Repeatedly, God showed mercy to Ahab, and though Ahab received the blessings God provided, though he believed the Word of the Lord, his heart never responded to that mercy. Oh, he humbled himself in sackcloth and ashes, asking for God to graciously spare his life, but he never reverenced the One Who held all power and Who had proven Himself to be the only God, a God worthy of worship.
The spirit of Ahab rules our land today.
We recognize Jezebel. Evil. Loud. Take charge. Getting what she wants at all costs.
We can even point out Elijah. Bold. God-fearing. Proclaiming what God is doing and what He’s about to do.
But Ahab is still on many thrones. The king. The one who has the authority to turn things around. The one who sees clearly the power of God, but chooses other loves over that knowledge.
See, there’s a difference between acknowledging God and serving Him. There’s a difference between receiving from His hand and bowing to His authority. Believing Him is not a synonym for following Him. Knowing that God is God is not the same as surrendering to His lordship.
We are in danger of the spirit of Ahab--
- When we feel in control of our destiny.
- When we unite our mission with people whose hearts are sold out to the devil.
- When we aim to please others at the expense of pleasing God.
- When we sneer at others’ devotion to God anytime it interferes with our opinions, wants, or religious ideas.
- When we remain apathetic to sin because it’s inconvenient to challenge it.
- When we don’t use the power we’ve been given to do good and influence others to have a closer walk with God.
- When we only seek God because we need something rather than because we need Him.
- When we know God is God, but we prefer to do things our way instead of His way.
Tip/Tidbit: Do you believe with your logic, or are you a believer with a surrendered heart and life? One small tip to begin shifting from believing with a head knowledge of God to a believing and followings Him wholeheartedly is to realize that God's Word is not an ordinary utterance; it is a divine outpouring of truth meant to guide us into relationship with the Almighty. Seeing God's Word as an extension of God Himself enables us to move from dissecting its text for lessons on success and moves us to obey, love, and trust its author. When we see God's communication of devoted love for us, we can respond with a heart willing to submit and follow.
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