The power of the Word of God

The prophet Elijah knew the power of the word that counted – the Word of God. 

Elijah appeared in Israel one day with a message from the Lord for king Ahab and the people of Israel:

(1 Kings 17) "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word." 

The power of this Word was clear from the destruction it caused. The Word of the Lord spoken by Elijah in the presence of the king made the crops in the field to die, dried out the earth and caused the streams and springs of Israel to go dry. Poverty and hunger threatened the nation.   Even creation suffered under the drought caused by the Word.  

Israel experienced the power of God's Word, a Word spoken by a prophet of God.  That Word could not be removed from Israel's life. It was more powerful than the words of the king and certainly also more powerful than the prayers of the priests of the false god, Baal.

The dominion of the Word of the Lord had to be impressed upon the minds of God’s people.   God used the drought to show the power of the Word spoken through the servant of his Word, the prophet Elijah.

By announcing the judgment in advance, God showed both the power and the truth of his Word.  As long as the drought continued and the life giving dew did not fall on the land, it reminded the people of the power of the Word of God.

God's Word is powerful.  It shuts the heavens. And at God’s time, it grants life giving rain and dew, through its power, again.  

The drought came because Israel ignored God's Word.  The Word that has the power to redeem, forgive and give life back to the land again, also is the Word of God.

God's Word is a powerful Word. It cannot be resisted.   It must be listened to and it must be obeyed. 

We live in the age when the Word has become flesh, in Jesus Christ, our Lord.  He is the one Word that must be listened to by all who seek life – even eternal life.

If we reject this Word, the Son of God, who came to call us to repentance and to life, it leads to eternal condemnation.

If we listen, obey, love and follow this Word of God, Christ Jesus his Son, his Word has the power to save, to forgive and to bless.  

The Word continues to triumph in our lives and our nations.  The Word cannot be destroyed.  It calls all people to repentance, faith, and obedience.    Let us be guided, moulded, and directed by the Word of God – a Word that has power, a Word that triumphs, a Word that cannot be resisted, a Word that destroys those who reject Christ Jesus and gives life to all who listen and obey.