We care what people think. Someone who says they don’t care is lying to themselves and that person probably cares the most! The challenge is that pleasing God often means disappointing people. Becoming obsessed with what people think about you is the quickest way to forget what God thinks about you. The quickest way to be free of what people think of you is to remember what God thinks of you. If you’re not ready to be criticized for obeying God, then you’re not ready to be used by God. Extraordinary acts of God often begin with ordinary acts of obedience.

We get used to disappointment. We get comfortable with it. We can become so familiar with the disappointment that we become unfamiliar and blind to what God is doing all around us. We stop praying, we stop hoping, we stop believing and forget who God is and what He can do. Sometimes God awakens the dream that we never thought would come to pass and brings it to fruition.

When angels speak to people they almost always begin with “fear not” or “do not be afraid." This is the most common command in the Bible. In fact, it’s in the Scriptures over 365 times. There’s a “fear not” for every day of the year. Fear paralyzes and keeps us from fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives. When Jesus was born there were several people who had to face their fears and obey God and God used them to change the world. They were afraid and obeyed anyway. You never know what you might set into motion with a simple act of obedience.

Our lives are important but temporary. God did amazing things in and through Elijah, and then he died. In our day, everyone wants to be a “rock star." Instagram, Tik Tok, and the like are fueling this. God loves you, He cares for you, but it’s not all about you. It’s about Him. There is no success without succession and God has Elijah lead and prepare the next generation.

Elijah is in a cave hiding and God speaks to him. God makes a big deal of letting Elijah know that he is not in the big things that Elijah was expecting, but in the small unexpected things. Why does God whisper instead of shout? Because he is close to us. God is in all things; He is closer than we think.

After the big win on Mount Carmel Elijah becomes afraid and runs from the wrath of the evil Queen Jezebel. This is surprising considering all that God has done through the Prophet. In Elijah’s mind, he is running for his life, but the reality is he is running from his life, the life that God called him to. You never want fear to make your decisions. Sometimes what we think we’re protecting is actually preventing us from all that God has for us.

In this passage, Elijah has the showdown with the prophets of Baal. There is literally a faceoff between the Lord God and the little gods. We all have little gods in our lives. Things we trust and put our hope in. The little gods promise what only the Lord God can deliver.

God shapes Elijah through pain to prepare him for the days ahead. He is taught total dependence on God, which prepares him for unconditional obedience. In that obedience, God does miracles in and through Elijah and he becomes known as the “Prophet of God."

The mystery of marriage is that two are now one. This is a moment in time at the wedding and a lifelong process in the marriage. This is both a joy and a challenge. Moses, Paul and Jesus call it a “mystery”. Just as Satan desires to divide and destroy the church he also desires to divide and destroy our marriages and families. Truth unifies. A united marriage is both powerful and fulfilling.

One of the prayers that we want to pray often is the prayer for unity. The church is to be diverse, but not divided. One of the most common themes of the New Testament is unity and most of the epistles are written to address division, bring truth with clarity and in that bring unity. How do we in the church from different backgrounds, different races and different cultures find unity in Jesus?