In 1 Kings 18 and 19, Elijah called for a showdown between the prophets of Baal and God. He called down fire from heaven to burn up the offering, caused it to rain and supernaturally outran King Ahab’s chariot. Jezebel, Ahab’s wife then said she was going to kill him and he ran for his life. He went about 400 miles south to Mount Sinai looking for God to reveal Himself like He did to the Israelites when they left Egypt. An angel asked him, “What are you doing here?” God then causes a great wind to come, an earthquake and afire, but He wasn’t in them. He then whispered showing His Word, even in a whisper is more powerful than anything. God asked him once again, “What are you doing here?”
This story is pretty crazy to me. How do you experience and operate in the power of God, and then run for your life like Elijah did? Fear. Fear causes us to doubt God no matter how close to Him we are or what gifts we operate in. It causes us to look at situations instead of to the One who can solve them. Fear is very powerful, but it’s no match for God’s still, small voice. Thankfully God is patient with us the way He was with Elijah. When we quit running and start listening, God will calm our fears and give us direction. If Elijah hadn’t let fear take over, He would have learned that God was going to destroy Ahab and his family. He could have saved himself a lot of pain and time if on,y He had run to God instead of away.
2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God will never give you the spirit of fear, but the Holy Spirit who gives you mighty power, love, and self-control” (TPT). Some version translate “self-control as “a sound mind”. If you’re running away emotionally, spiritually or physically today, know that your fear is not of God. He wants to give you a sound mind so you can see clearly. He wants to handle your situation, but you have to quit running and follow what He says. He may direct you to fight, to get help or He may just whisper into your situation. You need to put on the Helmet of Salvation and pray to seek God’s will in whatever is causing fear. Quit running, trust God and receive a sound mind from Him.
Photo by Erwann Letue on Unsplash
Listen to the words of this song and ask God to give you a sound mind in exchange for your spirit of fear.
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 