June 17

1 Kings 18:1-46, Acts 11:1-30, Psalm 135:1-21, Proverbs 17:12-13 

Pray: Pray that God would reveal Himself in a mighty way to you today. Pray for the faith of Elijah and be willing to trust that God will show up in some of the most uncertain of circumstances.

Read: Our Old Testament reading is one on my favorite Bible stories. The contest on Mount Carmel is one of those scenes from the Bible that reads like an action movie. On one side we have the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah and on the other side we have Elijah. The scene is set and the prophets begin to call on the name of their god awaiting a mighty demonstration of their god’s power. And…. nothing. Elijah steps forward and doesn’t just begin to call on the name of the one true God, but makes the seemingly impossible more impossible with the addition of water to the wood. Then he calls on God and God shows up in a mighty way and makes it obvious that He is the real deal!

Edify: When I traveled to the Holy Land in February 2017, I was honored to be able to lead our group in a devotion on the very spot where it is believed that this contest took place. I stood on this place and imagined all of the people standing around watching and waiting. Waiting for something to happen. I imagined the scene when the fire from the Lord came down from Heaven and burned everything up. I imagined the crowd standing there in utter amazement and the faces of the prophets of Baal and Asherah standing their in utter horror as they realized their time was up. Elijah’s faith that God would reveal Himself was so great that he wanted to make sure that there was no doubt that it was anyone other than God at work. Sometimes we have to be like Elijah, willing to risk it all for the sake of the Kingdom and for the name of God. 

Practice: Where do you need to take a risk for God? Do you need to step out of your comfort zone and begin a ministry? Do you need to trust God with your finances? Do you need to start volunteering somewhere? Where and when will you place your faith and trust in God so that He can show up in a mighty way?