Radical Faith

I was scrolling through some old pictures when I came across these:



6 years ago I had the amazing privilege to go to Israel and visit many amazing Biblical sites. This, Mt Carmel, was one of my favorites. I enjoyed it not only for its breathtaking view, but also for the story that took place on it.

A wicked king was on the throne of Israel and God's people had rebelled once again. They stubbornly turned their hearts against God and were worshiping the pagan god, Baal. During this time, Elijah, a prophet of God, ministered to the people. One day, Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a "contest" of sorts, basically to see whose god was better. They set out two sacrificed bulls, one for Baal and one for the God of the Hebrews. Whichever god sent fire down to consume the sacrifice, he was the "winner," he was God. The prophets of Baal set out to call upon their god, yelling and cutting themselves, doing anything they could to get their "god" to consume the sacrifice on the altar. They spent so long doing this, that Elijah began to make fun of them. He asked if maybe their god was asleep! Then he made an altar for the God of the Hebrews, placed the sacrifice on the altar, and called for it to be drenched in water three times, so that water filled a trench made around the altar. Then Elijah prayed to God, and God answered by sending fire to consume not only the sacrifice, but also the wood, the stones of the altar, and the water that had drenched it. God had shown that He was the only god in Israel. Elijah called for the prophets to be seized and killed. (For the full story go to 1 Kings 18:20-40)

Elijah had radical faith. He was confident that the Lord would show Himself to be who He said He was. I want to walk in that kind of faith, knowing that whatever God calls me to do, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, He will show Himself faithful. We have this saying in YWAM, that I believe was coined by Joy Dawson, "ruined for the ordinary." We want to be people that don't live for the ordinary, but live in radical faith. We are "ruined for the ordinary." That's how I want to live, confident that God is who He says He is and will come through, even in the craziest of circumstances.

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