#8. Waiting on the Lord

Published by Ben Stahl on April 2, 2020April 2, 2020

I Kings 18:1-2

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)

Eighteen days ago I started working from home full time. In mid-March my home state of Georgia put a statewide health emergency order into effect. Yesterday, public schools were officially closed through the balance of the school year. In Virginia, a statewide stay-at-home order is in effect through June 10, 2020. The question on many people’s minds is how long this disease will afflict us. It does not seem to be too great a stretch to think that such a question was on the minds of the people of Israel as we begin I Kings 18.

Due to King Ahab leading Israel into sin, the Lord stopped the rain in Israel (17:1). The resulting famine affected even neighboring countries (17:12), and the famine was particularly severe in Samaria where King Ahab resided (18:2). For three years the famine had been on the land.

Perhaps this account reminds us of the seven-year famine in Egypt in the days of Joseph (Genesis 41). We remember God’s mercy in that famine in giving Egypt warning of the famine and seven years of plenty in the harvest where the Egyptians could store up provisions. There was no warning given to Baal-worshipping Israel and Sidon.

In the extended famine, the Lord did not forget His people, but in His good timing, He spoke to His prophet Elijah and told him to go to Ahab with the promise that God would send rain upon the earth. So, Elijah did as the Lord told him to do (18:2), setting up a public defeat of the followers of Baal that was recorded for all of human history.  

God has not told us how long we will be afflicted with our present distress. Will 1,000 deaths per day be the height of the crisis in the United States or will it be 10,000 per day? Will He stop this affliction before the world sees its sinful ways and repents? God has not revealed these answers to us. But God has revealed to us that He hears the prayer of His people and will deliver them from their troubles (Psalm 34:17). God has revealed life and salvation through His Son and our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we continue this difficult chapter in our lives, let us look in faith and prayer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who will deliver us through this present trouble.

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