“Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” (1 Kings 18:37)
Expanded Passage: 1 Kings 18:31-39
I am a sucker for movies in which an underdog hero suddenly realizes his potential and decides to take a stand. I love that moment when he stops running, turns, and decides to face the threat that is pursuing him. While I am not advocating for the Lord of the Rings franchise, one such moment in the trilogy’s first film shows a character, Gandalf, making such a stand.
As the monster approaches Gandalf and his team, he turns, raises a staff, slams it down, and proclaims, “You shall not pass.” It is a powerful moment.
I get the same shot of adrenaline in this passage as Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal, a false god they all idolized, and Ahab himself as he allowed God to use him to set up this altar challenge. He placed the offering and ordered people to douse the wooden altar in excessive amounts of water.
At the right moment, Elijah drew that line in the sand and prayed to a God he knew would show up with the most incredible fireworks show ever known to mankind. I can only imagine the personal high Elijah must have felt to be used in this way. God rained down in this amazing moment, basically shouting out to the people of that country that they “shall not” ignore the one true God any longer.
Trust the God whose power and purpose cannot be denied.
John Zaktansky is the youth group leader at Port Ann Wesleyan Church in central Pennsylvania and oversees youth ministry at an annual family camp.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
