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Monday, October 14, 2013

Super Cake

1 Kings 19 : 1 – 8, And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!" Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat." Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you." So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. NKJV
You may enjoy baking. However, if you’re like me, you just enjoy eating foods that someone else baked, especially cake. I want to use the cake mentioned in this story about Elijah to share a very empowering principle for anyone who may be on-the-run from Satan. In today’s scripture, we find Elijah on the run from danger. His life has been threatened by Jezebel because he had killed all her false prophets.
Nevertheless, after Elijah heard about Jezebel’s threat to kill him, he ran into the wilderness alone and prayed that the Lord would take his life (in other words, Elijah wanted to die). In response to Elijah’s prayer request, God sent him an angel, who baked a cake for him to eat. Imagine with me for a moment how frightened for his life Elijah must have been. Now imagine how he must have felt when he was awakened from a nap (brought on by depression and fatigue) and instructed to eat a cake. 
Hannah Queen Photo

A cake… what was Elijah going to do with a cake while his life is on the line? Well, we know that He was going to eat it and live. Let’s not overlook the importance of the meaning of the cake. If God was offering him a cake to eat because his journey was going to be too great, then Elijah knew this was more than just the last meal before his execution. God was letting him know that his life would continue, even though there was a bounty on his head. Psalms 23: 5, You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; NKJV
Have you ever been in a serious situation and prayed specifically to God about it? Nonetheless, instead of Him responding in the way you asked, He gave you something else that appeared insignificant at the time? We mustn’t despise or overlook an answer to prayer simply because it wasn’t the answer that we “thought” we needed. Grab hold of this truth. Elijah could have resented God’s offer of the cake and ignored it because of the threat. However, he chose to obey God and, consequently, ran for forty days on the strength from that one meal.
We all know that the natural food from one meal cannot give us the strength to live for forty days. So let’s look deeper at the ingredients of this “super cake." Because Elijah accepted God’s gift and ate it, God gave him the grace (strength) to continue living in spite of the threat from Jezebel. The lesson that we learn from today’s word is to be humble before God and obey Him when He answers our desperate plea for help with something that is “seemingly” insignificant.
Compared to the authority of Jezebel, and Elijah’s frame of mind at the time, receiving a cake must have seemed like a joke to Elijah; nevertheless, Elijah knew God and understood His ways. Therefore, he submitted to Him and received the grace to live. Likewise, you and I must also honor God’s answer to prayer when something is threatening us. As we obey God, no matter how ridiculous His answers may seem to us, He will give us the grace to move forward in faith.
If God be for us, then who can be against us? No one can, not even the spirit of Jezebel! What are you running from today? Are you asking the Lord to take your life? Look around you with spiritual eyes and notice how He is answering your cries for help. It’s not about what He isn’t saying, but rather what He is saying through insignificant things He is doing on your behalf. God is in control of your life; He has given His angels charge to watch over you. So be still and SEE the salvation of the Lord in your situation today.
Now Let’s Eat Some Cake,
Pastor Asa Dockery

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