The Anatomy of a Lie
I’d like to explain to you the anatomy of a lie through the eyes of Elijah.
“I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets” (1 Kings 18:22, NLT).
It’s interesting in Scripture how God opens our blind eyes and allows us to see His Spirit of Truth. Here in 1 Kings 18 we find that Elijah has just begun to confront wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel (yuck). Most of us recognize Elijah as the hero of the story because he called fire down from heaven…
“At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, ‘O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.’ Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, ‘The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!'” (1 Kings 18:36-39, NLT).
Don’t you wish you could do that in your life sometimes?
Take that horrible bosses.
Take that chronic health issues.
Take that infertility, poverty and world-wide wars.
However pure your desires may be–this guy Elijah was in tune with God. His servant.
Elijah, The Hero
1 Kings 18 goes on to say that Elijah’s big feat was far from over. The major drought in the land was about to come to an end. Elijah was praying for rain and he didn’t stop until God brought it.
“So Ahab went to eat and drink. But [there’s a big but again] Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees. Then he said to his servant, ‘Go and look out toward the sea.’ The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, ‘I didn’t see anything.’ Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, ‘I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.’ Then Elijah shouted, ‘Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you! And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel. Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.” (1 Kings 18:42-45, NLT).
Why am I giving you all this text?
To show you the anatomy of a lie presented so powerfully in Scripture.
Never has there been a man so powerful and so in tune with God. But he fell hard. We are like Elijah. And like Peter who “walked on water” only to look at his fear and drown in the wind and the waves. We too look at our circumstances and…believe a lie.
Elijah’s Threat
“When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: ‘May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.’ Elijah was afraid and fled for his life” (Elijah 19:1-3a, NLT).
Really, Elijah? Really?
Elijah is scared of one woman who was running her mouth and it makes him–scared to death?
He just called fire down from heaven to kill 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. He should have known his God was bigger and more powerful to save and protect his life.
Elijah Believed a Lie
“I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” (1 Kings 19:4, NLT).
I posted the other day on Twitter & Facebook that forgiveness is a choice and so is love. What other choices do we base our feelings on sometimes? I got answers from fear all the way to anger. If love isn’t a choice then so is believing a lie.
Every day believe and act on choices.
Some good.
Some bad.
It takes the power of His Spirit to discern the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but. Did you catch the but? There it is again!
[Read last week’s post, “I like Big Buts” my spiritual epiphany through Acts 1]
Elijah’s Lie Exposed
“Elijah replied, ‘I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.’ ‘Go out and stand before me on the mountain,’ the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?'” (1 Kings 19:10-13, NLT).
Even when being confronted by the Lord Almighty, I Am Who I Am, Elijah believes the lie–again (see v 14).
Instead of answering Elijah’s fear the Lord says, “Go back the same way you came…Yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!” (1 Kings 19:15, 18, NLT).
Elijah’s Truth
In a freight or flight moment, Elijah choose to flee. Run away. And God found Him and owned His fears in a powerful display in the wilderness. God told Elijah to go back and return home. God would protect his life and not only his life but the life of SEVEN THOUSAND OTHERS.
What was that lie? Yeah…that’s right. SHUT IT!
What grossly disproportionate lie are you believing?
Our Truth
As we read from Elijah’s life, here are the Biblical steps to moving forward in freedom in Christ.
1. Confess the lie – 1 John 1:9 says, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”
2. Destroy the lie – 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”
3. Accept the truth – John 4:24 says, “For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
4. Walk in freedom – 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
5. Repeat often and as necessary as the lie persists! Even if it takes days, months, or…years to believe!
