When we were kids, we were taught that if you obeyed, things would go well for you. Umm…that’s just not that case, many times. Let’s say you obey God in how you handle a situation, but it gets your friends/peers mad because suddenly you were “the righteous one” and all you did was “show off” to make them look bad, get some extra credit from teachers/a boss or the leader of the group… Your good deed/good work/good job wasn’t meant to leave you stranded. It wasn’t supposed to turn out this way… Good shouldn’t have bad as a result… sigh, it’s a pretty lonely place to be.
Obadiah was that person.
Let’s be real. I’m that person.
Perhaps if you are honest enough, you find that you are that person too, sometimes…
Just because you do what is right doesn’t mean that things will be perfect. It means that you’ve done what is right in God’s sight. PERIOD. It means you were obedient.
Let’s see what happened to Obadiah and how he handled the place between UGH and BAM.
The Back Story (1 Kings 18:1-15)
Elijah had stayed with the widow and her boy. They were doing fine and were fed. The famine was still going on – 3 years later. The queen was taken to hacking God’s prophets to pieces and Obadiah was in a very precarious position, as he was the palace administrator and was ALSO a prophet. (Yes, he’s the guy who wrote the “Obadiah” book in the Bible, whose name means “servant of God”.)
Keep in mind: he was working for the king and queen of his country AND the queen was angry, killing his friends who were also prophets.
Because of his position as the palace administrator, Obadiah had resources available to him. He hid 100 prophets in caves and made sure they were fed and had water (very hard to do in a famine). He was stretched pretty thin with his double life (saving his prophet friends and serving the king and queen).
He was in the middle of an errand for the king, attempting to find a whole lot of non-existent grass for the king’s horses when he…met Elijah.
Elijah was a wanted man. It was common knowledge among the people that when he was found, the Holy Spirit would whisk him away to different location (vs. 12), so no one could ever pin him down. Elijah told Obadiah to tell the king that he wanted to see him. I love Obadiah’s very real response, “What have I done wrong that you would hand your servant to Ahab to be put to death.” Obadiah thought that Elijah would be whisked away AGAIN and he would pay for the consequences with his life.
Obadiah’s feelings around the consequences of what was asked of him was horrific to him. But don’t be too hard on him, he saw others put to death for similar things and was legitimately worried. There was a mental hiccup between the cost of obedience and the comfort of trusting in an all-powerful God. (ah yes, that’s where I sit now, in the middle of the hiccup – it’s kinda uncomfortable. Not a lot of mind-clearing air here, just more like a serious mental muscle spasm).
Once again, Obadiah begs for his life, citing all the ministry he has to do in keeping 100 prophets alive and Elijah says, “Yep, today’s the day, I’ll be here”. It’s up to Obadiah to trust now.
Thoughts
God calls us all to different things. Elijah was called for the purpose to declare righteousness and stand against evil. Obadiah was called to diplomacy (the skill to deal with hard situations very sensitively and tactfully) and as such, saved many people.
How much can we learn from Obadiah? Could I have worked under an evil king, who was killing my friends, and STILL be kind, diplomatic and wise? (Honestly, I’m not so sure…) Daniel and his 3 friends had to do the same (Daniel 1, 2 & 3 etc.) They all could have given in to the culture of the day, going along with the king’s program, instead of trying to live out of the power principles . But they didn’t abandon their faith. Obeying God under grueling circumstances (without experiencing the happy ending) is evidence of real faith. (Not saying there wasn’t a happy ending – there WAS. But they didn’t live it out yet. We know the ending, but they didn’t at the time. It was still in their future.) The ending of the story has to do with God, His sovereignty and His will. The walking-it-to-the-end-well, has to do with me and my heart attitude.
What circumstances has sucker-punched you? I know for me, these hit-from-behind coward punches really throw me for a loop. But, honestly, so-far, so good. Not that my circumstances are good. They are not, in fact, this is 100% evil. BUT, I have to trust that My God has the power to take what is evil and twist it for His good purposes, that He will not waste pain and that He will be glorified by taking care of things to such an extent that I could never dream of.
Once again, God is daring your to test His power principles just like Obadiah, Elijah, Daniel and his friends. What are they? There are too many to count, but here are some to think about: Food in the middle of a famine. Sure life in the middle of being hunted to be killed. The miraculous in the middle of an average life. Being sustained, even with the odd smile here and there, in the middle of despairing circumstances.
What is the hardest part for you? How does God see that hard thing and what promise has God made to you about it? Don’t know? That’s okay, you can just ask Him. 🙂
One of the greatest purposes that God has for all people, is to make them more and more into who HE is – this is not arrogance on His part. Nope. He is a God that loves and shows that deep care for everyone around. THAT’S who He wants us to be like. He wants us to thrive in our relationships, feel at peace with ourselves, and honor others in our care for them. Why? Because that’s what He’s like.
Each of us are going to do that differently. Some will be like Elijah, calling for change when bad stuff happens and some will be like Obadiah, with quiet, practical help for those who are suffering. Each have their place. What place is yours? Even in the middle of the sucker punch, who is God wanting to be for you, what characteristic does God want you to copy in Him? How does HE promise to support/help/guide/give-you-the-tools in where He wants you to be?
FYI, that place between the sucker-punch of UGH and the BAM of God’s movement is called…
Faith.
Such a testing of our faith! What a beautiful well written devotional! Love it! I believe this testing or any testing will strengthen our faith muscles for what is to come. Even the poopy hard ones. You taught me that. From each test, comes increased faith to handle more (not that we want more but I guess God is always refining and teaching ) It’s like working out- a person who hasn’t worked out for a long time won’t be able to suddenly run 5 miles well. But if they use each practice run and build up to it they will be prepared to run when asked. Unless of course they fall and break a leg…. ha.
You are such a great teacher. Thank you for encouragement to continue to trust God even when it’s soooooo hard. I believe the increased faith lessons we each go through are also a powerful testimony for many. God wastes nothing.
Love you
and great song!