February 22nd Devotion

The Big Leagues – Chuck Swindoll

And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel. Then the LORD gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel. (1 Kings 18:45-46)

The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit. (James 5:16b-18)

We read about Elijah and we say, "Wow, he's in the big leagues. He's a spiritual giant. I'm a pygmy in comparison to him. He's in another world entirely." Not true. Look again. James doesn't say, "Elijah was a mighty prophet of God." He doesn't say, "Elijah was a powerful worker of miracles." He doesn't say, "Elijah was a model no man can match." James says, "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours."

That means he was flesh and blood, muscle and bone. As we're about to see, he got really discouraged, and he had some huge disappointments. He had faults and failures and doubts. He was just a man, with a nature like yours and mine. He may have been a man of heroism and humility, but let's not forget his humanity. Elijah was our kind of man!

So, what kind of man was Elijah? Well, he wasn't afraid to square off with the king of the land or take on the prophets of Baal. The guy had guts, no question. But he wasn't too powerful to pray or too confident to wait or too sophisticated to see rain in the tiny cloud or too proud to pull up his robe and run like a spotted ape down the mountain in the rain and mud, like the roadrunner, thinking, "C'mon, Ahab . . . catch me if you can!" No wonder Elijah is the kind of man we admire. Isn't it exciting to know we serve the same God he served? Isn't it thrilling to think we can trust the same God he trusted?

And what kind of God is that? He's the God who makes promises and keeps them.