Day 95, or April the 5th. Think positively when things go wrong.
Our thoughts today are from 1 Kings chapter 17 verse 18. She said to Elijah, What do you
have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?
Now the big picture surrounding this verse. One of the greatest historical stories of
the Old Testament is the triumph of Elijah over the prophets of Baal. The prophet Elijah
confronts the recognized religion of the leaders of his day, and God gives him an amazing victory.
Elijah taunts his opponents on Mount Carmel and uses lots of water in a time of drought
to make his point that only the living God is worth serving. Ahab was king of Israel
at the time, and his wife was the infamous Jezebel. Elijah often shows great courage
and bravery, but at the same time he covers hundreds of miles running away in fear, particularly
from Queen Jezebel. He is a real enigma, as we all are if you look around at the way we
all act in diverse ways, which rarely shows real consistency in our daily lives. Elijah
plays an unforgettable part in the life of a Gentile woman, whose son dies and who is
raised from the dead by Elijah.
Now today's action step. In the midst of his national ministry, Elijah is called to
minister to an ordinary woman who isn't even Jewish. How often God does that in our lives,
temporarily calling us from our primary duties to take care of something that appears to
be a distraction. Maybe that's happening to you at the moment. You are in good company,
if it is, because it happened to Jesus on a regular basis. The Gentile woman's initial
response to her son dying is all too predictable even in many believers today. She assumes
it to be a punishment from God for sins she has committed in her life. We are very good
at blaming God for the mishaps of life, but equally reticent to give him the glory for
the blessings of life. When things go wrong, it is never God's fault, but he can always
bless you abundantly if you let him, even today.