Then Yahweh’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell facedown and said, “Yahweh, He is God! Yahweh, He is God!”  1Kings 18:38-39 HCSB

If you haven’t read the story of Elijah which begins in 1 Kings chapter 16, it’s a great story of obedience and faith and you should take the time to read it. In this particular portion of Elijah’s story, Elijah presents himself to King Ahab, who he knows is upset with him. He issues a challenge. King Ahab had been worshiping Baal, a false god. He had built a temple and set up idols. Elijah presented himself to Ahab who gathered up all the Israelites and the prophets of Baal. Elijah asked them how long will they straddle the fence between God and their idols? He tells them that if Yahweh is God to follow Him, but if it is Baal, then follow him. But the people didn’t answer.

So Elijah, the one prophet, challenged the 450 prophets of Baal and they accepted. Elijah said, “Hey let’s get two bulls. Ya’ll pick which one you want and then build an altar, put your bull on it, but don’t light it. I will call on Yahweh and you can call on the name of your god. The God who lights the fire, He is God.” And it was on. The prophets of Baal got their sacrifice ready and called out but nothing happened. They danced around and hobbled around the altar, but nothing. Then Elijah began to mock them by telling them to shout louder saying maybe their god was thinking it over or was sleeping, or was on the road. They then shouted and began to cut themselves but no one answered and no one paid attention. After this had gone on all afternoon, Elijah called them to come near to him. He repaired the altar that had been torn down, took 12 stones (one for each tribe of Israel) and built an altar in the name of Yahweh. Then he dug a trench around the altar big enough to hold four gallons of water. He then put the bull upon the altar and instructed them to fill four water pots with water and dump them on the altar, which they did. He instructed them to do this two more times until even the trench was filled with water. He then prayed to God asking God to make it known that He was God and that Elijah was His servant. This brings us to our scripture passage today. God not only sent fire on this drenched altar and offering, but the fire licked up the water out of the trench.

God not only showed up, He showed off. Think about the boldness it took for Elijah to issue this challenge. He not only issued this challenge, but then he poured the water. If you have ever tried to burn a limb that was freshly cut you know it won’t burn because it has not yet dried out. If you have ever tried to drench a pile of fire wood with water and then burn it, you know that it doesn’t work. But Elijah knew that God would come through. Why, because Elijah was faithful. He had a good, solid relationship with God. Prior to this incident, God had protected Elijah (1 Kings 17:2), God had provided for Elijah (1 Kings 17:6) and Elijah had been able to perform miracles (1 Kings 17:12-16, 1 Kings 17:17-22). Elijah had been a good and faithful servant to the Lord and he knew that God would come through for Him.

So, I want to ask you today are you putting anything or anyone before God in your life? If so, how is that working out for you? We think of Idol worship as an Old Testament thing, but it’s alive and well here in 2020. We don’t like to think that we worship idols, but we do. I am going to tell you that I can look back to a time when I put other people and things before God in my life and it may have seemed to be going well for a while, but it never worked out for long. But, I can honestly say that God has never let me down. He has told me no a few times, but only for me to come to realize that it was for my own good. You see I don’t know what my future holds, but I know that He holds the future.

Are you dancing around and crying out in chaos and confusion trying to get your idol to answer you? Spoiler alert, it’s never going to happen. Whatever you put before God will never come through for you. If you want to know that your cries will be answered, you must turn to the one, true God. He will never let you down. He will bring fire when you need fire and rain when you need rain.

If you are sitting on the fence and trying to worship more than one god, know this will not work. This will only bring suffering and confusion. Give it all over to God. He will protect you and take good care of you.

Have a great day!