Carried Away To Who Knows Where

As Obadiah was walking along, he suddenly saw Elijah coming toward him. Obadiah recognized him at once and bowed low to the ground before him. "Is it really you, my lord Elijah?" he asked. "Yes, it is," Elijah replied. "Now go and tell your master, 'Elijah is here.'" "Oh, sir," Obadiah protested, "what harm have I done to you that you are sending me to my death at the hands of Ahab? For I swear by the LORD your God that the king has searched every nation and kingdom on earth from end to end to find you. And each time he was told, 'Elijah isn't here,' King Ahab forced the king of that nation to swear to the truth of his claim. And now you say, 'Go and tell your master, "Elijah is here."' But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the LORD will carry you away to who knows where. When Ahab comes and cannot find you, he will kill me. Yet I have been a true servant of the LORD all my life. 1 Kings 18:7-12 NLT. 

So Obadiah was not filled with the Spirit…but Elijah was if he was to be carried away by the Spirit of the Lord. He was recognized as a man of God, by the widow that God sent him to live with during a famine (1 Kings 17:24). In this passage Obadiah was speaking to Elijah. He thought that Ahab would kill him—knowing that Ahab really wanted Elijah to die. Obadiah thinks that the Spirit of the Lord would carry Elijah away to who knows where? Anywhere. Just not anywhere that Ahab would find him. Getting carried away by The Spirit of the Lord—the Holy Spirit—is not a common occurrence. John, the Apostle, was “carried away” in the Spirit in two occurrences in the book of Revelation. See Revelation 17:3 and Revelation 21:10. These incidents represent visions that John experienced when the Holy Spirit was dictating the Book of Revelation to him. How can we apply this to our lives? That is pretty hard. We can’t exactly expect to be carried away in the Spirit. But we can expect to find the Lord…if we search for Him. But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29 Where and how are you looking for the Lord? 

Prayer ~ Holy Spirit, I am looking for You. Please reveal Yourself to me—so that I may know You more fully and serve You more deeply. 

'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.’ Jeremiah 29:11-13

© 2015 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.