Maybe you face intense pressures in your career. You ask yourself, “Should I even be doing this?” And you wonder, “Is it possible to be a Christian and pursue a secular calling in this world that is increasingly hostile to our faith? Can I stay or should I go?”
And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water (1 Kings 18:3-4).
God puts his people in some surprising places. The testimony of Obadiah can encourage Christians who have been called to serve God in dark places for His purposes.
Called to Unlikely Places
Obadiah is a godly man, and God has put him in the palace, next to Ahab. Imagine the darkness of this palace with its evil king and its wicked queen. King Ahab didn’t fear the Lord or walk in His ways. But God placed someone next to him who did.
Perhaps you can relate to Obadiah, who loved the Lord but lived and worked in a place that must have torn him apart. Maybe you are serving a company where many things make you deeply uncomfortable. You say to yourself, “I am a Christian. Should I even be here? How long can I go on working for these people?”
Maybe you face intense pressures in your career. You ask yourself, “Should I even be doing this?” And you wonder, “Is it possible to be a Christian and pursue a secular calling in this world that is increasingly hostile to our faith? Can I stay or should I go?”
Then you think, “Maybe I can get a job in ministry. Maybe I could become a pastor or a missionary or work for a nice Christian organization. Then I wouldn’t have to deal with these pressures.” The darker the world becomes, the greater the pressure on Christians to withdraw.
Don’t shy away from positions of influence because they are difficult. God calls His people to be lights in very dark places.
Called for Surprising Purposes
I Kings 18 tells us that there were at least a hundred men who had been called to preach the Word of God (v. 4), but there was only one man standing at the right hand of Ahab. The best that Obadiah can do for God is not to abandon his job and become the 101st preacher, but to persevere in his high-pressure position. Take him out of the palace, and so much is lost.
Obadiah couldn’t possibly have hidden the prophets apart from information gleaned by working in the palace. Think about the risk involved in that! Jezebel is killing prophets, and her husband’s chief of staff is hiding them in caves. Think about the cost! Obadiah supplied food to a hundred missionaries out of his own pocket!
