Who do you Fear?
As we have walked through the life of Elijah this Summer I have found the subplots to be quite fascinating. Whether it was Obadiah, or the widow and her son, there were always some lessons to learn. But this week I found a verse that really caught my attention. “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done…” I Kings 19:1.
On Mount Carmel after God sent the fire, Elijah did as the Lord commanded and took out the prophets of baal. But Ahab was spared. I believe that Elijah must have seen some sign of remorse in the actions of King Ahab. We find that Elijah gave Ahab instructions of what to do from eating to traveling. Ahab did exactly as Elijah told him to do. Ahab even witnessed the miracle of Elijah outrunning his horses and chariots on the journey to Jezreel. It was almost as if in that moment, Ahab had feared the Lord and started to return to God. But when he encounters his wife Jezebel, his demeanor changed.
Ahab was a weak man that was greatly influenced or even controlled by Jezebel. When he saw her at Jezreel, Ahab spilled the beans. His fear of the queen was greater than his fear of God. Think about how much control she had over her husband. He had just witnessed fire falling from Heaven, the children of Israel repenting, false prophets slain and yet Ahab fears Jezebel more.
Even today we all struggle with our fears. Fear of the unknown grips many of us and at times the fear of those who know us best grips us even more. Even the most courageous believers have those weak points that open the door to fear. From Abraham to Moses to Elijah and many more great servants of God, all experienced those fear moments. It doesn’t just happen to the Ahab’s of the world. We all have a Jezebel of some type in our life.
The psalmist David was very transparent about his struggles and fears in life. One reason we often love the Psalms is it is so relatable. The more David grew in his relationship with the Lord, the more he only feared the Lord. “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1. Then entire Psalm 27 is a bolster of David’s faith and his understanding that there is but one God and if I am in Him why should I be afraid! Even in this we realize, fear is a constant battle.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” Proverbs 9:10. What does it mean to fear the Lord? It is to realize God is greater than whatever it is you fear. The Book of Nehemiah says it this way: “God, we pray that you would make us God-fearing. Help us to fear you rightly and appropriately and truly to honor and revere love and tremble before. Glorify you. God, we pray that it would be true of our lives that we were faithful and God-fearing.” Nehemiah 7:2. As believers we have a healthy fear of God. We recognize His holiness and power. We have been singing in church recently that…Our God is an Awesome God. If we truly believe that in our hearts, then whom shall I fear?
On Mount Carmel after God sent the fire, Elijah did as the Lord commanded and took out the prophets of baal. But Ahab was spared. I believe that Elijah must have seen some sign of remorse in the actions of King Ahab. We find that Elijah gave Ahab instructions of what to do from eating to traveling. Ahab did exactly as Elijah told him to do. Ahab even witnessed the miracle of Elijah outrunning his horses and chariots on the journey to Jezreel. It was almost as if in that moment, Ahab had feared the Lord and started to return to God. But when he encounters his wife Jezebel, his demeanor changed.
Ahab was a weak man that was greatly influenced or even controlled by Jezebel. When he saw her at Jezreel, Ahab spilled the beans. His fear of the queen was greater than his fear of God. Think about how much control she had over her husband. He had just witnessed fire falling from Heaven, the children of Israel repenting, false prophets slain and yet Ahab fears Jezebel more.
Even today we all struggle with our fears. Fear of the unknown grips many of us and at times the fear of those who know us best grips us even more. Even the most courageous believers have those weak points that open the door to fear. From Abraham to Moses to Elijah and many more great servants of God, all experienced those fear moments. It doesn’t just happen to the Ahab’s of the world. We all have a Jezebel of some type in our life.
The psalmist David was very transparent about his struggles and fears in life. One reason we often love the Psalms is it is so relatable. The more David grew in his relationship with the Lord, the more he only feared the Lord. “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1. Then entire Psalm 27 is a bolster of David’s faith and his understanding that there is but one God and if I am in Him why should I be afraid! Even in this we realize, fear is a constant battle.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” Proverbs 9:10. What does it mean to fear the Lord? It is to realize God is greater than whatever it is you fear. The Book of Nehemiah says it this way: “God, we pray that you would make us God-fearing. Help us to fear you rightly and appropriately and truly to honor and revere love and tremble before. Glorify you. God, we pray that it would be true of our lives that we were faithful and God-fearing.” Nehemiah 7:2. As believers we have a healthy fear of God. We recognize His holiness and power. We have been singing in church recently that…Our God is an Awesome God. If we truly believe that in our hearts, then whom shall I fear?
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