"Do it the third time..."

"And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord : and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord , hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord , he is the God; the Lord , he is the God." - 1 Kings 18:31-39

Tonight I was reflecting on this story and the takeaways from this scripture and a startling concept smacked me in the face.

Do I have the faith to really go before God with my life and pour water on it then pray for him to light my offering?

God didn't command Elijah to pour water on his offering. He only commanded Elijah to challenge the false prophets. The idea of drenching the sacrifice and altar with a trench full of water surrounding it was all Elijah.

I am facing a situation in my life that seems improbable at best, if not impossible. The reason for this isn't God's doing but my own. It has been my mistakes on two different occasions that has put me in this position and caused me this pain. However, my impossible situation and Elijah's impossible situation should be very similarly handled. Don't get my wrong, our situations originated very differently. I created mine out of selfishness and a lack of gratitude, Elijah created his impossible situation out of his own faith.

My natural inclination is to see this and want to feel sorry for myself. I want to say it is impossible. That what I want can't ever actually happen. It is so easy to believe I've done too many wrong things on too many different occasions for it to ever be good again. But tonight this scripture breathed a renewed hope into my life through a simple truth.

Nothing is impossible for God.

Here is Elijah, the last remaining prophet of God that hasn't been killed by a crazy queen. Here is Elijah, standing on a mountain outnumbered 450 to 1. Here is Elijah, in the middle of a three and a half year drought and a famine that is crushing the country.

And what does he do?

Elijah asks for the most precious of things during a drought. Four barrels of water. Then he has them pour it out over his sacrifice. Then Elijah has them do it a second time. Then Elijah has them do it a third time.

Now at this point the king and all the people who are gathered here are prepared to kill Elijah if this doesn't go his way. Poor old Elijah has made himself a target to the king by approaching him and challenging the prophets of Baal. Let alone, add to that he now has taken 12 barrels of water that is so valuable during a drought and poured it out on the altar and ground.

I wonder what went through Elijah's mind at that moment in time.

Honestly he's thinking what we all should when we are faced with challenges in our life. Elijah is bold and confident that God is who God says he is and that God can do anything.

My situation may not work out the way I want it to, I may never have the things I desire. Do I like that truth? Absolutely not. Am I fighting against myself to try and fix it myself and go "earn" what I want? Without a doubt.

Thankfully though I have learned through Elijah that what I should be doing is the opposite of what I want to do. Instead of going out and trying to figure things out myself, instead of trying to scheme some way to make what I want to happen come true, instead of trusting myself; I should be like Elijah.

I should be removing myself as far as possible from the situation and boldly saying that God can do exactly what God sees as best without any of my help. I should be pouring water all over the desires of my heart and saying "God here I am, I know that I am broken but I believe you are able!" I should know that if God wills it then there is nothing natural or logical that can stand before God's will. I should know that if my prayer is never answered in the way I imagine it, that it is not because God couldn't do what I asked but that it simply wasn't what God intended.

Why should I be doing all that? Because of how God answered Elijah. Not only did the fire fall from Heaven and burn the offering but the fire burnt the offering, wood, stone, and even the water in the trench that surrounded it all. That is how completely God loves and answers his children when they pray for his will in their lives. God is able and God wants his people to bring their circumstances to him in prayer with confidence.

Lord, I pray that you would work through my brokenness and my failures so that people can look at my life and see your power through my weakness. I ask that your will is done in my life. I remove myself from your way in my life and I submit to you all the desires of my heart. I promise that if you will work in my life, I will glorify you to the world through my testimony of your work. Send the fire in ways I never thought possible.