The
Lord, our God, is “King of the whole earth. He rules the nations”
(Psalm 46:10; Psalm 47:7-9). The Lord is great. He is “the great King”
(Psalm 48:14). The Lord does not remain detached from us in isolated
heavenly glory. He comes to us as the God of our salvation - “God will
buy me back from the power of hell” (Psalm 49:15). By His Word, spoken
to us and acted out on our behalf, God involves Himself with us as our
Saviour. He is not a God who keeps His distance from us - “Our God will
come.” He is not a God who keeps His silence - “and will not be silent”
(Psalm 50:3). This God comes to us with His promise of salvation - “Call
on Me in times of trouble. I will rescue you, and you will honour Me”
(Psalm 50:15). Along with this promise of salvation comes God’s call to
live in faith and obedience: “Bring your thanks to God as a sacrifice,
and keep your vows to the Most High” (Psalm 50:15). To those who walk in
His way, the Lord promises His blessing: “Whoever offers thanks as a
sacrifice honours Me. I will let everyone, who continues in My way, see
the salvation that comes from God” (Psalm 50:23).
We read about Elijah in his high-points of strength - the triumph over the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:36-39) - and his low-points of weakness - he is ready to give up: “I’ve had enough now, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4). How did Elijah get into such a mess? He forgot this: “The Lord’s power was on Elijah” (1 Kings 18:46). In all life’s ups and downs, we must hold on to this: The Lord has sent His Spirit of power to live in us (2 Timothy 1:7). How are we to live in the power of the Spirit? We need to feed on the Word of God and drink in the Word of God (1 Kings 17:4). We need to pray that the Lord will send His showers of blessing (1 Kings 17:14). We are to live our life “according to the Word of the Lord” (1 Kings 17:16). For our life of faith to be strong in the Lord, we need to listen attentively to the preaching of God’s Word (1 Kings 17:24).
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