1 Kings 21: We All Stand in Need of God’s Grace

²⁷ When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.

²⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: ²⁹ “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.” -1 Kings 21:27-28

I am amazed at God’s grace more when I see it in the life of those who rebel against him. Ahab was an evil king who disregarded God’s ways so much that God predicted a bloody end to his life. But when Ahab mourned and fasted, God relented.

Why? Ahab certainly didn’t deserve it. But that’s the point. NONE of us deserve God’s mercy and grace. We have all rebelled and turned our own way. Yet when we humble ourselves before the Lord, he shows love.

Interestingly, Ahab’s humility included fasting. As a sign of his seriousness, Ahab stopped eating. While there is no direct command to fast to humble ourselves before the Lord, there are certainly numerous examples in both the Old and New Testament that assume Christians will fast and that this act helps draw us closer to God. If you never have, maybe this is a practice to consider.

Regardless of how you humble yourself, the key is to do it. Why? Just like Ahab, we all stand in need of God’s grace.

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Dillon Burroughs is the author and coauthor of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of all 31,173 verses of the Bible at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com.