Advent Devotional by Amy Duncan

I Kings 18:1-18

. . . the Lord said to Elijah, ‘Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!’ So Elijah went to appear before Ahab. (1 Kings 18:1-2 NLT)

Our family likes to plan. We make lists. We research. We create spreadsheets. Greg and I are both this way, and our adult children have taken this practice into their marriages. I hear about people who throw a few things in a bag and hop in the car on a whim to discover something new. Nope. I would not be in that car. Not only do I value the security of a well-made plan, I actually enjoy the planning process and savor the anticipation of a well-developed itinerary.

Today’s passage presents the prophet Elijah in the midst of a journey into the unknown. God had asked Elijah to travel with only the promise of provision, first from ravens and then later from a widow he would encounter at the gates of a village. God revealed only a few directions at a time, so Elijah never really knew what the next phase of his journey would bring. God called him to encounter King Ahab, who “did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him” (1 Kings 17:30). Not only did Elijah confront Ahab, he appeared as the only prophet of God before almost a thousand prophets of Baal and Asherah and ultimately demonstrated in dramatic fashion that God was the one true God. (A great story in the second half of 1 Kings 18!) Immediately Elijah became the target of Queen Jezebel and had to flee for his life. I wonder if Elijah would have ever set out from home if he had known what lay ahead for him!

Elijah lived in a time of political unrest, religious persecution, constant war, and human suffering–sadly familiar to present-day readers. When he sensed God’s call, Elijah responded, despite not knowing what would happen next. As we ponder the “Spirit of Christmas Future” this week, we can perhaps relate to feelings of unease or even fear as we face the unknown. We don’t always get to create a perfect itinerary. Elijah trusted that God would provide and that God would be with him through the journey. We can find comfort and assurance in seeing that as God kept his promises then, he continues to do so today.

Amy Duncan