Where Do You Stand?

1 Kings 18:15 “Then Elijah said, "As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today." NKJV

The context of this passage is that Israel has been facing three years of no rain and famine due to their idolatry and rebellion against God. 1 Kings 18:11 says, “The word of the Lord came to Elijah saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth." So, Elijah is on his way to meet Ahab when he encounters Ahab’s right hand man named Obadiah, who was out looking for grass for Ahab’s horses. Elijah tells Obadiah to go tell Ahab to come and meet me here. The servant says if I go get Ahab and he comes and you are gone, he will kill me. Then Elijah says, "As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today."

The thing that strikes me about this verse is Elijah’s comment “before whom I stand.” The Living Bible says “in whose presence I stand.” Elijah had a unique perspective that we do not often have in our materialistic western culture. He had a sense that he perpetually stood in the presence of the Lord of hosts. It was out of this relationship and awareness of God that his powerful prophetic and miracle ministry flowed.

In 2 Kings 6, Elijah is surrounded by horses, chariots and a great host of the Syrian army that have come to arrest him. Elijah is calm and at peace while his servant is seized with fear. Elijah is calm because he sees what his servant does not see, that the mountains were full of horses and chariots of fire. He tells his servant, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” “Fear not.” That is a term Jesus often used with His disciples. Why was Jesus calm, while they were worried and fearful? I believe it is because, like Elijah, he understood where He stood.

Ephesians 2:4-7 says, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

“God has made us alive together with Christ, and has made us to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” We who are born again are placed in a unique position. We not only operate in this world, but we at the very same time stand in the presence of God by the Spirit. We are given this unique position and view that the world does not have, a heavenly perspective, so that we might show forth his glory and accomplish His purpose in the midst of the world in which we live. Our problem is that we become so caught up in this earthly realm that we lose our heavenly perspective.

Like Elijah and Christ, we can operate with confidence in the midst of turmoil and chaos that surrounds us. Wherever you are and whatever you are facing today, remember that you are in the presence of God Almighty, the Lord of Hosts. It is out of that position that you can operate in His authority and speak into your situation and the lives of those around you.

Andy