Hey peeps! Sorry I missed my day! Elijah was supposed to be due YESTERDAY! urm since it's midnight now, the day before yesterday. (:

Anyway! ELIJAH!



As everyone knows, Elijah is one of the most renowned prophet in the bible! You can find him in 1 Kings, and he did many miracles, and the most exciting thing is, God took him up into heaven in a whirlwind! Isn't that cool!? I think from the life of Elijah, we can learn so much! But I think the entire of Elijah's life is centered on one thing, Faith.

In 1 Kings, chapter 17, Elijah prophesied drought in Israel to King Ahab, and right after that he had to go into hiding and he was fed by the ravens which were sent by God. Hmm. Let us ponder on this point. I believe many of us have received a personal word from God before, and they can be tasks that require us to step out of our comfort zone. i.e. evax-ing to this random person that looks mean and unreceptive? Sometimes we take that step of faith and believe that little voice in our heart, yet sometimes, we waver and give it up. Hmm. Elijah went to the king, to prophesy bad news. We have trouble telling our friends about the good news that Jesus is real! But nothing stopped Elijah. And he clearly shared God's heart beat.

Afterwards, when the brook (which God told him he can drink from) had dried up because of the drought, he obeyed God's word to search for this widow whom God said will give Elijah food. Okay, so the widow was poor and had no food. She told Elijah she wanted to have a last meal with her son. After that they'd probably commit suicide and die. If I were in that situation, I'd probably be so disappointed. I risked my life for God, and He's giving me more problems instead of helping me. But not Elijah. Elijah had so much faith that God's word will carry him through despite the circumstances. He made use of the opportunity to perform a miracle.
"Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said." He comforted the widow, (I don't think anyone of us would be able to comfort someone if we're hungry and thirsty, and at the same time are running away from the most powerful man in the country.) and told her, "The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry" .. till the end of the drought. Woah! Such great faith, such great love. You think that's cool!? There is more! After sometime, when the son of the widow died, she blamed Elijah. But he was not discouraged, neither did he felt that God was shortchanging him. Instead, he prayed for the boy and resurrected him. And through this, changed the widow's heart. His faith was so huge, and his heart so aligned with God's that he knew that he can make the best out of the worst situations, as God would. We have all heard about these miracles, but have we ever stopped and ponder over how we'd have reacted in the same situation?

It is easy to believe God when everything looks good. It is not hard to go to church when we have nothing better to do. However, if we are facing the same circumstances as Elijah, will we hold on to God, and trust that He will transform all our fears and inhibitions into testimonies? Will we trust that God is capable of turning the worst for the best? I take myself as an example. It was very hard for me to give up OAC for church, and though I no longer have to be too bothered by it since my term has ended, but I know deep down that if OAC has a chalet, and there's caregroup/unit meeting/membership class -.- or what not, it'd still be a great struggle for me. (though it probably will not happen since yuhui's my aci, and liping's my cl) But yeah, I know that even for these little things in my life, I still hold on so tightly to them. But, let us learn this together. We can receive so much more, and do so much more, if we really put all of our wants and desires at God's feet and let him navigate our life. Elijah passed God's test. Can we too?

There are many instances when Elijah performed other miracles, such as when he brought fire from the sky and shamed 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. Weren't these possible because he was faithful, and courageous as well? Well, let us move on and inspect this part when Elijah became depressed after the miracle did little to change the hearts of the people. He was emotionally pained because of his love for God's people. Yet despite his feelings, he continued to give his all in doing God's work. He did not give up and stop believing in God's power because of the single incident (though it was a pretty BIG one). He continued to be God's messenger and hung onto God's every single word. He did not shut himself into his little tiny world simply because he was sad, and because things did not work out as he hoped and expected. Elijah has burnt out at this point. "I have had enough, LORD, Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors," and under that broom tree, he prayed that he might die. Yet when God sent his angel down to comfort him, he allowed himself to be refreshed by God's presence, (which came in a whisper) and after that, continued to carry out God's work.

I think this is a great learning point. Elijah was just another ordinary person, like you and me. He was very human, and he gets tired and discouraged too. But he did not dwell in it, rather he allowed himself to be refreshed by God. And this is not just some O.T's fairytale. This is VERY real! You know it's happening in your very own life as well! Don't all of us get tired and worn out when we're serving God too? But because Jesus died on the cross for us, today we can enter God's presence as and when to refresh ourselves anytime! So don't we have it so much easier than Elijah? Shouldn't we be doing so much more miracles than he did? Yes? What made the difference? Why did God used him? Why not us too!? I believe when you reach this part of the entry, you'd already have an idea why. (:

Please continue to read up more about this wonderful prophet, for there is so much you can learn from him! (: I hope this entry isn't too lengthy for you guys. (: I don't know what you think, but I'm so humbled after typing this post. Haha! (:

Let us build up on our faith so God can use us!