A Warrior’s Attitudes – Doubt v Conviction Part 2

Team,

On Tuesday, we looked at Faith from the standpoint of the Believer. Today, we look at the Faith of the Anointed Prophet. We looked at doubt as a part of being human. Not to condemn, but to acknowledge its presence. See that Elijah moves through his day and its situations with a bold confidence that Believers can only marvel at. See that the widow moves and reacts with the combination of Faith and Circumstance that is a part of the human condition. 

1 Kings 17:11-24 (New Living Translation)

¹² But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”
¹³ But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”
¹⁵ So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. ¹⁶ There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
¹⁷ Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. ¹⁸ Then she said to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?”
¹⁹ But Elijah replied, “Give me your son.” And he took the child’s body from her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed. ²⁰ Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?”
²¹ And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.” ²² The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! ²³ Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. “Look!” he said. “Your son is alive!”
²⁴ Then the woman told Elijah, “Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the Lord truly speaks through you.”

The widow is a believer, but see in verse 12 that she has spoken the demise of herself and her son. Doubt has her looking only at her present circumstances. She is unable to lift her eyes and see God's Promise for her because her present is so dire. She is not weak,lazy or a non-believer. She is simply overrun by her present to look beyond it for her future.

Now, look at the words of Elijah in verses 13 & 14. He states firmly - "Don't be afraid...", and "there will Always be Flour and Oil...". Elijah is walking in his anointing. He moves through his day with his spiritual eyes fixed on God as a constant in his life. Elijah does not condemn her for doubting, he simply uses his anointing to strengthen her Faith in God.

It happens again (doubt is NOT easily defeated) in verse 17 when the son becomes ill and dies. Doubt causes the widow to assume her own guilt (v18) and to doubt everything in her own grief. Again, Elijah does not waver (v19). He exercises and stretches himself and his anointed Faith (v19-21) to allow God to show up and show out! 

Always know that God hears the prayers of His anointed AND His believers. The difference is often in the approach. When the believer was challenged again, doubt was the first response and the first prayer (words spoken to the situation). When the anointed is challenged, he cries out (just like the believer), but his words are a call for a change (v21-22), not a lament. 

There is AMAZING power in praying while standing in the conviction of your anointing! Work on your words and your Faith will grow. Work on your Assignment and your anointing will grow. Recognize your anointing and your word power and see miracles occur all around you!!    

 

Blessings,

Bryan