October 16

1 Kings 17:8-24 (see the entire story here)

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”… 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah…. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” 24 And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

Mission Impossible—invading enemy territory with no supplies. Elijah, man of God, goes to Zarephath in Sidon. Sidon, where Jezebel’s father is king. Sidon, the heart of the Baal cult. Elijah descends into the darkness of Baal, the god who resurrected each year bringing rain and grain and life.

But God…. But God sent a drought; rain is not in Baal’s hands. God provided flour and water to the widow, fatherless, and man of God; grain and food is not in Baal’s hands.  God provided life to the dead Gentile son; life and resurrection is not in Baal’s hands. In the very center of Baal worship, God powerfully displays his compassion to the most weak and vulnerable, his love for Gentiles, his power, and that he alone is the living God. God’s glory on display to the dead and drought-stricken Baal worshippers, God’s glory on display to the dead, Baal-worshipping Israel. Who would they serve? Nature was God’s very polemic. But just as God raised this dead Gentile boy, so could God raise a dead Israel (Eph. 2:1). He would do so ultimately through the death of his Son, bringing new life to all his people, Gentile and Jew alike. The impossible made possible!

Missionaries often go to the darkest areas. There can be such a strong sense of dark oppression. Death seems to reign. But we serve the same God, the God who steps on the very ground that their gods possess, bringing life. What the nations search after in vain, God offers. And through the Word of Elijah, through the Word preached by our missionaries, life comes. Victory.

Your Mission

·         Pray for our missionaries, that the feel God’s power and protection in the darkness, and pray for spiritual protection (Eph. 6:10-20; 2 Thes. 3:3; Lk. 22:31-32).

·         Pray that the nationals see the emptiness of their gods and the fullness of the true Living God.

·         Where are you buying into the culture’s gods and lies? Where are you exposing the emptiness and deception of the world?

Mission Impossible Made Possible—Field Notes

“Are you ready? You think you got that within you? You don’t. No way does anybody have that kind of resourcefulness within them. Where are you going to get it?

You’re going to get it by believing the promises of God. Hebrews 10:32-34 is my favorite text about where you get the resources to live like this: ‘Recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and affliction and sometimes being partners with those so treated.’

[Many of the early Christians were imprisoned.] So those who were still free went underground for a few hours and asked, “What are we going to do?” And somebody said "Psalm 63:3 says, 'The steadfast love of the Lord is better than life.' It's better then life. Let’s go!"

How did they have the wherewithal to rejoice at the plundering of their property and the risking of their lives? Now we get it: “Since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.” This is what I call faith in future grace.” (John Piper, “Doing Missions When Dying is Gain,” DesiringGod.org)