Devotionals

ELIJAH HE WAS A COURAGEOUS MAN

by Henry Jaegers
01/11/21
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THE PREPARATION OF THE PROPHET:

Part Six

 
By Henry Jaegers

ELIJAH

HE WAS A COURAGEOUS MAN

(The ability to stand fearlessly in the face of Danger.)

Where did Elijah get his courage?  The importance of answering that question arises because there may be times in our various ministries that we will need to be courageous. What makes a man like Nathan able to risk his life and confront the king in his sin knowing the possibility of great harm to himself for doing so? What makes a man like Jeremiah stand before people who are intent on destroying him because he spoke God's message? And what about the apostles and disciples who risked their lives because they proclaim that Jesus rose from them from the dead when to most minds such a thing was impossible. If what they were speaking was not true, why would they suffer great persecution when the truth would set them free? We may mention several things that contributed to Elijah's courage. First, there was the assurance that the message he proclaimed was from God Himself. It was not something he did on impulse. The word of God we proclaim is truly the word from God and that word from God has behind it the promise to us that He would be faithful to his word.

Another reason for Elijah's courage was his undeniable call from God. It was not his great oratorical skills but the wickedness of the times, the physical discipline of his body, his ability, given by God, to withstand hardship, and the reception of the message he proclaimed by the people, were all contributing factors to his courage. We talked about him being a man of prayer and the man of faith, a man of compassion, which contributed to his ability to fear God above the man. We are told that “the fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe,” (Proverbs 29:25)  s

This indeed was the reason for his courage. Naturally speaking dangerous situations are not those things that attract us to the call of God. There must be a genuine faith in the reality and person of God and genuine confidence that He will do what he said. Without God, a man is a fool who would dare to face dangerous situations thinking that he is equal to them. Elijah was a man who had reason to be courageous because he knew he had a genuine call from God to deliver a specific message to the situation that he faced.