TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25
Scripture: 1 Kings 18:7-10, 12

1 Kings 18:7-10 says, “Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, ‘Is that you, my lord Elijah?’ And he answered him, ‘It is I. Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here.”’ So he said, ‘How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, “He is not here,” he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you.’” When we start to use our faith to restrain evil, even our friends may find there is jeopardy in knowing us. That is exactly what Obadiah found when he suddenly met Elijah and recognized him. He fell on his face and asked, “Is that you?” Elijah said, “It is I. Go, tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’” And when we look at the response we understand the pressure Obadiah was under. Verse 9 says, “So he said, ‘How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?’” It was suicidal for Obadiah to tell Ahab Elijah’s location. In order to understand that, we have to read verse 10 which says, “As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you.” That is the urgency of the death sentence that was on Elijah. Verse 12 explains what Obadiah was afraid of, “And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth.” Using our faith to restrain evil will likely make us very unpopular. Perhaps that is a reason many are reluctant to do it. It is hard to get prepared for the inevitable unpopularity that will come when we start praying this way. But we are called to it and need to be willing to do it, regardless of the consequences. There is often a personal cost when we decide to obey God. That is why we are developing our faith to be fed sovereignly and supernaturally so that the provision is available in the needed season to do what God is asking us to do. We may have to walk in this place and now is the time to get prepared.