WHO IS YOUR BACKING?

We are introduced to the first reading of today in these words ‘

And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word(1 Kings 17:1).

Thus, we are made aware of the human origins and associations of Elijah. However, notice immediately the transition when he stands before King Ahab- he was no longer Elijah the Tishbite, but a man who had come in the name of the Lord. That was why he could speak and receive the backing of heaven. God honored His words exactly as he had said them.

The same is seen of David when he met Goliath on the battle field ‘you come at me with a sword, a spear and a shield, but I come in the name of the Lord, the God of the armies of Israel (1 Sam 17:45). He suspended being the son of Jesse, to fall back to the backing in the name of the Lord.

It is not always about who or what is being said, it is rather the enforcing authority that animates what is spoken. Whenever men know to stand behind the name of the Lord, He rises up as a strong one to back whatever is spoken. The words spoken by such men, take on a specific weight, as though God himself was doing the speaking.

You may therefore be doing a lot of speaking, but the one backing you matters. Are you just getting through life or is there someone in, and with authority that has your back? Because your own name alone will be insufficient in certain corridors.

#sly