Now!

Hebrews 4:⁷ “So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.”

1 Kings 18:⁴¹ “Then Elijah said to King Ahab, “Now go eat and drink. A heavy rain is coming.” (ERV). We see that Elijah started by telling King Ahab to go home, eat and drink, right? But Ahab was still sauntering around. Elijah left him, climbed the mountain, and went to pray. Only God knows how long it took for Elijah and his servant to climb that mountain. 1 Kings 18:⁴³ “Then Elijah said to his servant, “Go up higher and look toward the sea.” The servant went and looked. He came back and said, “I saw nothing.” Elijah told him to go look again. This happened seven times.” (ERV, emphasis added). Only God knows how long it took the servant to climb up higher. The Bible does not tell us how far away they were from the lookout.

We don’t know how long it took the servant to climb up higher and how long it took him to descend to where Elijah was. Then Elijah would bow again and pray, and this happened seven times. We also don’t know how long the prayer intervals were between each lookout. However, the Bible tells us that this happened seven times. All this time, Ahab was still just sauntering around. Interestingly, some people are like this. You have been told to go and eat, go, and rejoice. Go home, go and plan because the rain is coming. You need to sow (plant), go and sow. Yet you are not doing anything, just sauntering around. Go and take action. Go and get ready for the rain. But you are not doing anything, just sauntering around.

1 Kings 18:⁴⁴ “The seventh time, the servant came back and said, “I saw a small cloud the size of a man’s fist that was coming in from the sea.” Elijah told the servant, “Go tell King Ahab to get his chariot ready and go home now. If he does not leave now, the rain will stop him.” (ERV, emphasis added). The urgency is in the now. When Elijah told Ahab to go home the first time, he just said Go home. In other words, take the word of the man of God and go home. However, this time around, Elijah said, “…If he does not leave now, the rain will stop him.” In other words, the rain will be a problem for Ahab. I pray the rain will not stop you, and the rain will not be a problem for you. You need to go home when? Now! You need to go home now!

Now is the time to repent so that the times of refreshing will come upon you. Repent of that sin now. Now is the time to relax. Now is the time to rejoice. Now is the time to plan and prepare for the rain. If you need to bring out your bucket or put seed in the soil, do it now!

Prayer: Father, please give me eyes that see, give me ears that hear, and a heart that is swift to do Your will, in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen!