Wait For It - Devotional

Bible passage for sermon - 1Kings 18: 41-46
1Kings 18 - ⁴¹ Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” ⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, ⁴³ and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.” ⁴⁴ Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’” ⁴⁵ Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. ⁴⁶ Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

This passage is about when there was a drought in samaria, and Elijah, after showing the people of the land that the Lord is truly God, told Ahab that there is a sound of abundance of rain. He "heard" it first in his spirit and even reassured Ahab to "go up, eat and drink". He heard it and he believed that will certainly come to pass.

Elijah went to the top of carmel to pray by taking the position of bowing down on the ground and putting his head between his knees. This indicates that he was praying so much and didn't let anything distract him, but also he understood the importance of watching at the same time. So he got his servant to do the watching for him while he prayed. You need to learn to watch and pray at the same time...most believers either pray and pray without watching, while some just keep watching and hoping that thing will materialise because they have heard it.

Elijah sent his servant to go and look at the sea for any sign of rain while he prayed hard and held onto what he heard in his spirit. Even though he heard it, he still had to wait to see it materialise. The servant went back and forth 6 times bringing back news of no sign of the rain. This alone is enough to make you disappointed and probably lose faith at that which you have heard from God. The servant would probably have written off Elijah and doubted in his mind if he truly was a prophet from God. This happens to everyone of us when people will write you off because you are not where "they" think you should be. You have promised so much but you haven't delivered anything that "they" can see.

But on the 7th time the servant saw a rain cloud rising from the sea. This changed the whole complexity of things for both the servant and Elijah. The servant then realises that Elijah is once again the prophet of God that he has always been, and Elijah receives the confirmation of that which he had heard and believed in. Even though it is still not the rain which he expects, he knows that the cloud is the start of that which he heard. This applies to you in your daily life that that which you are expecting might not come immediately in the finished form you are expecting, but that which you see is a sign of the thing expected.

Once Elijah got the little confirmation, he acted upon it by sending message to Ahab to prepare the chariots so the rain will not stop him on his way to jezreel. At this time there was no rain yet when the message was sent, the clouds only became black with clouds and wind and thenwith heavy rain after the message was delivered. Elijah acted upon his faith that God will certainly bring to pass that which he had spoken to him in the spirit. Elijah started to put things in place in readiness for that which he knows will happen. You also need to start to put things in place and prepare yourself for the promises once you get little confirmations about them. Don't just spen all the time praying and praying, there is a time to pray and a time to get ready for when the prayers get answered. The keyword here is "prepare".

Ahab prepared his chariots and set off to jezreel but without Elijah, probably in his haste he forgot about him. But Elijah even though the rain had come, still waited behind until the hand of the Lord came upon him. Only then did Elijah gird up his loins and left on foot for jezreel and made it there, even before Ahab who was on the fast chariots. I said previously that the keyword is "prepare", even though Elijah saw the rain and could have gone with Ahab on the chariots, he intentionally waited upon the Lord to touch him, to confirm to him that all is well and that he can now go ahead. All this while Elijah was preparing himself for the appointed time when that which he heard would come to pass, and because he now saw the rain he didn't just jump without the full confirmation from God.

He chose Gods appointed time to embark on the trip to jezreel, and because he waited God accelerated his progress tremendously that he even got to the destination before the man on the fastest chariot. When your have waited upon the Lord for so long for a thing he has promised you, hold on to that till you get Gods full blessings to then go ahead.

In conclusion - When God gives you a word, you will not die waiting. The Lord will not break his word for you. He exalts his word over his priciples, therefore wait on the Lord and obey his instructions and he will elevate you at the appointed time.