In 1 Kings 18, the prophet Elijah is famous for challenging the prophets of Baal to a supernatural “duel” of sorts. The winner would settle the question of who was the real, true God. The issue had become critical as God’s people had turned from worshipping Him, and were following after the pagan god Baal, who had been promoted by the wicked rulers King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.
But now the people were tired and thirsty. As a result of Israel’s spiritual adultery, God had instructed Elijah to declare judgment 3½ years earlier. The rainclouds of heaven shut up tight and nothing the false prophets did could bring back the rain.
When Elijah again appeared on the public scene, the people gathered with great anticipation. The stage was set, the sacrifices made. Baals’ prophets put on quite a show. But when their prayers were ignored, and Jehovah God answered Elijah with a consuming fire, the people captured all 850 false prophets of Baal, who were then put to death. With that, God declared an end to the drought.
“Then Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.’ So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, ‘Go up now, look toward the sea.’ So he went up and looked, and said, ‘There is nothing.’ And seven times he said, ‘Go again.’ Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, ‘There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!’ So he said, ‘Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’ Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel” (1 Kings 18:41-45).
In a Dry and Thirsty Land
It’s hard for us to imagine how much life gets turned upside down when there is no water.
We can only get a glimpse of it during the occasional storms that cause power outages and, unless you have a generator hooked up in your house, it also knocks out the water.
You can’t flush the toilets, take a shower or wash clothes. In effect, it makes you housebound because you don’t want to go out stinking and having bad breath. When storms knock out the water to our homes, it’s moderately inconvenient. But this experience pales in comparison to what it was like for Israel during that drought. Without water, their crops wouldn’t grow, their livestock couldn’t live and food became scarce.
People began to dehydrate, starve and die. Animals fell over and died in the field. The land grew brown and dried up; no vegetation, no greenery, and river beds looked like puddles. Everywhere was dry and barren.
It’s likely the people were fighting and rioting just to survive, doing things they wouldn’t ordinarily do. Neighbor rising up against neighbor. Friend rising up against friend. After 3 ½ years, it was every man for himself. They expected to suffer, go without and eventually die because there was no end in sight.
Life’s Dry Seasons
Most of us can’t relate to that kind of drought, but probably all of us can relate to spiritual drought.
It’s a dry season in our lives where things don’t feel right, when there seems to an emptiness inside. It could be a dry season in marriage when your spouse seems like a distant friend. Or a dry season in our children’s lives when things aren’t progressing well for them. A dry season in our finances when we are just barely making it paycheck to paycheck. A dry season professionally when our chosen career path is no longer a challenge and no longer satisfying. Even a dry season in our relationship with God – we just don’t feel His presence, our prayers don’t connect with heaven, and we wander away from fellowship with the Body of Christ.
It's a drought not where there is no physical water, but where there is no living water. And the emptiness or barrenness it causes creates a hole in our hearts that we want to get out of, but we don’t know how. No matter what we try, we keep going around the same mountain over and over again, feeling hopeless and helpless.
But be encouraged! When we find ourselves in this place, we can take a lesson from Elijah on how to end the drought and experience an abundance of rain.
Listen to the Sound
Everyone else saw devastating drought all around, but Elijah heard the promise of God… I hear the sound of abundance of rain. He tuned in to the goodness of God.
No matter how far people drift away from God, He is forever putting a sound on the inside of our spirits for better things. He is forever giving us instructions and pictures of what He has for us, especially when life looks hopeless.
I’ve learned that in the midst of being surrounded by situations that don’t look hopeful, that there is a voice on the inside of my spirit that keeps calling me higher, keeps pushing me forward, keeps reminding me, not of what is, but of what God has promised.
And I’ve learned the importance of disciplining myself to listen, to tune in to the sound and tune out the sight. This is how faith works. If we are going to get out of a spiritual drought, we must be tuned in to the sound of the Spirit and not the sight of the circumstances. Indeed, we walk by faith in God’s promises and not by sight.
Push through in Prayer
“And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees…” (1 Kings 18:42).
Any man who has ever been in the delivery room as his wife is giving birth recognizes this position. When a woman is in labor and the contractions get to a certain point, she’s got to bear down and push through until the baby is born.
It is similar in the spirit: the contractions are the sound that we hear in the spirit, what God is saying is going to happen. But in order to birth the sound into something that we can see, we’ve got to get into the birthing position.
What is the birthing position? It is prayer.
Prayer is where we push past everything holding us back. Prayer is where every high thing built by the enemy comes down. Where we weaken what the enemy strengthens. Prayer pushes past the blockage and breaks through to the blessing God has promised.
In order to get out of drought and see the “sound” become reality, birth it in prayer!
Dare to Start
“And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, ‘Go up now, look toward the sea.’ So he went up and looked, and said, ‘There is nothing’” (1 Kings 18:42-43).
Up until this point, Elijah and his servant were surrounded by the drought, and it’s likely their routine was the same every day: don’t move a lot, drink as little water as possible, and preserve some for the next day. Expend as little energy as possible, in order to not need more water than was available. Same routine everyday.
Isn’t that what happens when we get stuck in a drought? We do the same unproductive things everyday: eating the same bad diet will keep us fat; sitting on the same couch every day will keep us out of shape, depressed and down trodden. Coming into work every day late and with the same bad attitude will keep us from being promoted. The same poor study habits cause us to stall out our educational goals. Treating our spouses in the same unkind way creates a bad marriage.
There is some “same” that is lame and will keep us stuck in a drought. What we need is a new kind of “same”!
When Elijah said to the servant, go up and look toward the sea, he was in essence saying, today we are going to start a new “same.”
Today we aren’t going to expend as little energy as possible so we won’t need water we don’t have. Today, you are going to go up all the way to where you can look out over the sea, and I’m going to pop a squat in prayer, and we are going to see this situation change!
Can you imagine what the servant was thinking?
What?! But I have no energy, I’m so dehydrated. That’s a long way off and I’m not sure I can make it. I might pass out if I try!
What about us? Don’t we also resist doing new things, even if they are exactly what we need to get out of drought?
I’ll start my diet Monday. I’ll start going to the gym after New Years. God understands I was too busy this morning to pray or read my Bible, and that thing I had to do… I’ll go to church next Sunday.
It seems the hardest thing for us to do is to start a new cycle of “same.” Cutting unhealthy foods, getting a gym routine, even the most beneficial habits to get us out of the drought are difficult to get established. But in order get going again and experience God’s promises, we just may need to do things much differently. And then we must become consistent until we see our ultimate breakthrough.
To get from the drought to the dream, start a new same. Not tomorrow, next week or in the New Year. Start now!
“Jesus said, ‘No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day’” (Luke 9:62, MSG)
Dare to start, because the longer we stay in a drought, the more power we give the enemy over our future. However, when we do the same good things over and over again, we will experience success. We will go from barren to breakthrough, and from drought to a deluge of rain!
Photo credit: Unsplash/Patrick Schneider
Frank Santora is Lead Pastor of Faith Church, a multi-site church with locations in Connecticut and New York. Pastor Frank hosts a weekly television show, “Destined to Win,” which airs weekly on the Hillsong Channel and TBN. He has authored thirteen books, including the most recent, Modern Day Psalms and Good Good Father. To learn more about Pastor Frank and this ministry, please visit www.franksantora.cc. Photo by Michele Roman.