Be An Obadiah
By: Ron Gordon
“He will kill me.”
In I Kings 18, we find the story of Elijah and God’s “consuming fire” victory over King Ahab and the prophets of Baal. However, before the climactic scene on Mount Carmel, we meet a seemingly minor character, Obadiah, who manages King Ahab’s household. Reading through the passage, one may surmise that Obadiah was a coward. Three times across only six verses, Obadiah expresses his deep concern to Elijah that King Ahab will execute him if he reports finding Elijah without being able to follow through. Indeed, not the type of leader to make a big splash for God’s Kingdom, was he?
As the dynamic football analyst, Lee Corso, often said, “Not so fast, my friend.” Although Obadiah doesn’t boldly stand in the face of King Ahab and confront his evil, we discover a rare level of deep faithfulness. Obadiah finds himself positioned in service to Public Enemy Number 1 against Yahweh. King Ahab’s wife, Queen Jezebel, had been killing the prophets of the Lord, yet Obadiah boldly took action. Devising a covert plan to hide the prophets of the Lord in a cave and sustain them, Obadiah risks his life to spare the lives of 100 of God’s servants.
Faithfulness doesn’t always look the same. We are often drawn to flashy personalities such as Elijah, who openly profess their faith in ways that not many of us are as gifted in. God can use these powerful moments to inspire and move hearts in spectacular ways.1 Most of the time, however, God uses ordinary people with ordinary abilities to do extraordinary things that may never be seen or known publicly. The common denominator is faithfulness. We are to trust, obey, serve, and honor God wherever, however, and whenever we are called to do so.
Christian school and homeschool educators, you are placed in a position to impact the child or children you are stewarding daily in ways that can be truly transformative. You may never be honored or mentioned in any awards ceremony or highlighted for the powerful contributions you make each day. However, our God will use your faithfulness for His glory. Like Obadiah, we may sometimes wrestle with fear and struggle to be consistent in our walk. Keep persevering for our Lord. He’s the One we are working for.
Endnotes
1 Dale Ralph Davis, I Kings: The Wisdom and the Folly, Focus on the Bible Commentary Series (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 2002), 231.
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Ron Gordon leads our REAP Division and has shepherded dozens of Christian school launches and renewal efforts over the past decade. Before joining RenewaNation, Ron spent 23 years leading manufacturing organizations, mainly in the Defense sector. Ron and his wife, Tonya, are passionate about developing Kingdom stewards for the next generation. They have been married for 31 years and are blessed with three children: twin sons, Caleb and Jacob (both pursuing post-graduate degrees in Divinity and Mathematics, respectively), and a daughter, Kate (pursuing her Master’s degree in Digital Content).
