If I’m Threatened I Will Not Escape, I Will Always Be Useful

Bible Study #700 (before 445) Church in the Houses From: October 4-10, 2011

TOPIC: “If I’m Threatened I Will Not Escape, I Will Always Be Useful” 1 Kings 19:1-18 When the righteous are threatened it is because the enemy wants to destroy them. 1 Peter 5: 8 When we rise to be righteous there is an assurance, an essence, that there is a great God and that the third person of that Trinity, the Holy Spirit, performs great deeds in us. No one can work in someone else’s heart to purify it; that is the work of the Holy Spirit. The only way that we can do something is by carrying on the Word of God to others. Therefore, we cannot say that we are going to transform someone because that is the work of the Holy Spirit, the one who works, reveals, makes us weep, pray and works deep inside of each one of us. The enemy wants to harm us, stop us and take us into the cave as he did with the prophet Elijah. We sometimes escape from our problems; we have all done it at some point of our lives. The enemy is always ready to threaten us, to frighten us. He does it to make us run, so that we will hide as Elijah did. It seems natural that behind our fears and worries it would be best to escape, but if we do we will perish. We must be determined not to escape, but to face the enemy. Let us remain in prayer and fastening, it is part of our life; we have to be firm according to the path we have chosen and because we are going to struggle for our own loved ones. In many ways the enemy wants to frighten us and make us hide in order to stop us from speaking God’s Word. In our life the best thing is to do is to struggle. God sometimes removes those who have been teachers in this path. Elijah was a teacher who was removed at one point of his career and Elisha rose as his successor. There was a time for Elijah. Elisha was more determined and daring, he lived more years. Elijah was a teacher. No one on earth is alike. Let us listen to the teachers that God has raised. What we should learn should not cause us any fear. As long as Elijah maintained his faith alive, God moved his hand. But, if we are cornered into a cave because of fear, then our faith will be captivated in the cave and we will cease to see. Ahab knew who Elijah was. He was afraid to confront him, so he went to his wife Jezebel who was a perverse woman and brought the matter to her attention. The devil's purpose was to silence Elijah. If the devil succeeds in quieting us, God’s people will perish. Let us understand that Elijah was not doing the work but God. When there are threats upon the righteous there is a tendency to panic. Elijah was only an instrument of God. God’s people know and can see. Every threat has a purpose and it is to make us run. Elijah had to resolve his destiny, his life. He had to decide if he was going to continue to do what he did for God and for the people of Israel. It is not a matter of being threatened, but the fulfillment of our life, what God has for us. Threats seek to silence us to run and hide. We are not the ones who set free, who retort, but the ones who deliver the teachings wherever we stand, that area is ours and no one else’s.

Demons subtlety comes to make us run. In threats that are subtle some yield and leave the battlefield when they are needed the most. The enemy has always wanted us to escape when we are needed the most and seeks to take advantage. If we hide in the cave we leave an open space for the enemy and when evil comes we will not be standing where we are supposed to in order to stop it, to see and to fight against it. Danger terrorizes us, and we tend to escape and seek for an easy solution, we must not make this mistake. When we are in danger is when we learn to love God the most. And in our greatest fears is when God is closer to us. Here is where we can see the power of God. God doesn't choose powerful men because God is who becomes great in us. The danger is not what is great, great is our God. We should never forget that God is who works and makes all the wise decisions. Elijah was an instrument of God, and that is what we are, God is God. He is who brings justice. The one who is truly being threatened by danger is the God whom we serve and not us. Jezebel made it possible for God to anoint someone else in Elijah’s place. The devil achieved that Elijah would no longer be the prophet, but God immediately had someone else. The danger terrorized Elijah. We must never distrust of God’s protection. When one has strength it is because this strength comes from God to help us fight and do good to others. Elijah got very depressed because he wasn’t able to maintain his faith. We all have the same human nature, what happened to Elijah can happen to us, but we should learn from Elijah and let the Word of God teach our human nature. God gives men power, then we must try to always stand bravely, because God is with us. In the long road that awaited Elijah he was to have an encounter with God. Elijah’s utility was extremely affected by fear. He was the man that opened the heavens with his prayer. When we are afraid we are not useful in the moment when we are needed the most. God is who will always do; there is no reason for us to enter the cave. Elijah was not useful for God’s purpose because he was hiding and fearful. A prophet, one who loves, a righteous, must not live hiding because God doesn't hide. The righteous, the prophet, the teacher and the minister are in the midst of their people. Elijah had to be in the midst of his people because he had to correct what was wrong and encourage those who were righteous. Jezebel was just a creature of God; there was no reason for Elijah to be afraid of her. We must understand that we need to be in the midst of the people. Truly, let us love being righteous and let us be useful in God’s work. We are in the midst of the people to rebuke the malevolent and to encourage the righteous. The great thing was not that Elijah felt God in the fire, in the earthquake, and in the gentle whistle, but that he was to anoint Elisha in his place. Elijah had to be in the midst of his people in spite of his fear and terror because there are problems and situations where the devil wants to deceive. The danger that he saw in Jezebel was greater than his trust in God’s power. God chooses us; let us not decline in our faith. What are we fearful of? If there is fear it is because we have stopped believing. Who lacks of faith lacks of strength and is no longer useful. If we become useless because of the terror, we will not be able to see the manifestation of the power of God on earth. It is God’s job to unfold His power. Our job is to teach, correct and reprehend. Let us be useful for what God wants for us. We were not called to be in a mount of Horeb or in a desert, but to be in the midst of the people. Let us not be filled with resentment but doing God’s will. Let us be where we have to be to be useful to what God wants. God is our refuge, not the cave. Amen.