July 3 Devotion: The Real Problem

1 Kings 18:17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?

         Wicked king Ahab (and his wife Jezebel) were horrible leaders in Israel. They led the nation down a path of idolatry. They set themselves up above the people to feed their greed and ruthlessly ruled the nation.

         God sent a prophet to the people to declare the right way of the Lord. Elijah was a minority voice of righteousness in a majority world of wickedness. Notice in the text verse the viewpoint that Ahab had of Elijah. “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” The very ones that are the problem will shout the loudest that anything that opposes them is the problem. That was Ahab’s accusation against Elijah. He was saying, “You’re the problem.”

         We hear this same viewpoint in the current political and religious world. When wickedness is opposed then it is shouted down as a problem that must be silenced. The real problem is so ridiculously blatant that it parades itself as the standard of truth when evil is its source. (This devotion is not intended to be political but let’s be clear, the standard of what is right is not legislated by man but is declared by God in his word.) “…Let God be true, but every man a liar…” (Romans 3:4) Any deviation from God is a path of lies. Whenever the secular becomes separated from the truth of the spiritual then it is void of a true foundational standard and becomes a great problem.

         The real problem in this world is sin, not righteousness. The real problem in this world is the devil and those that have been deceived by him, not the word of God and the God of the word. Salvation in Christ is the solution, not the problem. May the church stand tall even when it is shouted down by the wicked Ahabs and Pharisees of the current day. Truth may be in the minority in this present world, but it is still truth. It is not the problem. Christ is the only hope for mankind.

In Christ’s Service,

Bro. Adrian Moore

2 Cor. 4:5