Lessons from Elijah

| Written by Andrew Wommack | You can go to the school of hard knocks. You can experience hardships, disappointments, and failures and learn from them—or you can learn from the experience of others. The Bible is full of examples of people whose lives we can learn from. Elijah is one of those people.
Elijah rose to a position that very few people have ever reached. He was the first person recorded in Scripture to see someone raised from the dead. He called fire down out of heaven. He walked with God to such a degree that he never experienced death—God literally caught him up into heaven (2 Kgs. 2:11).
And yet Elijah failed to do two thirds of the things that God spoke to him in an audible voice, and as a result, people died. But Elijah’s story is one of redemption, showing how God can use us despite our failures. 
Before I get into Elijah’s life, I want to set the scene, which is important because it relates to us today. Israel had gone astray. In 1 Kings 16:29–33, Ahab is described as the most ungodly king Israel had ever had. He and his wife Jezebel outlawed the worship of the God of Israel, whom the Israelites had served for centuries. Like Elijah, we face hostility toward believers today.
In 1 Kings 17:1, Elijah opposed Ahab and Jezebel’s actions, saying:
As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
With these words, Elijah attacked Ahab’s rejection of God. He boldly proclaimed that the Lord lives. I tell you, there are a lot of Christians today who aren’t bold but instead are apologetic about the Bible because the secular world has rejected it. That’s wrong. We need to stand up. Those who reject God’s Word are the ones who should be ashamed or fearful.
So one of the lessons I learned from Elijah is that it doesn’t matter what the situation is in the world. If people will stand up and speak the Word of God, God can turn things around. Elijah had one of the greatest revivals ever recorded in Scripture. First Kings 18:38–39 talks about this revival:
Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.
This revival happened because somebody took the Word of God, stood up, and spoke it. I tell you, if you would take the truths of God’s Word and stand up in your realm of influence—unapologetic—I believe that it would make a difference. If you get persecuted, if people come out against you, that’s an indication that you are making a difference.
I’d like to challenge you today that you and I have a word from God, and we need to be bold.  Isaiah 5:20 says that in the last days people will “call evil good, and good evil.” We are living in that time, and we have to stand up and start speaking the truth. If we don’t, I guarantee you the ungodly aren’t going to do it. So the very first lesson that I learned from Elijah is that we need to stand up and make a difference in our society today.  
I’ve shown you a glimpse of what you can learn from Elijah, but there’s so much more, and I encourage you to get my full teaching. This month, we’re offering a special package which includes my Lessons from Elijah, Lessons from David, and Lessons from Joseph teachings. You don’t have to go to the school of hard knocks! You can order at awmi.net/elijah or by calling our Helpline at 719-635-1111—or just complete and return the enclosed form. 
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