1 Kings 18:7

1 Kings 18:7 says, And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah?  While he was out looking for water, Obadiah met Elijah and recognized him.  If we are out in the world today looking for whatever, we will encounter Jesus Christ at some point and we must recognize Him, and once we do, if we acknowledge Him as our personal Savior and Lord, we will be forever His.  Verse eight adds, And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.  Elijah acknowledged to Obadiah that he was indeed Elijah and told him to go tell Ahab that he was there.  As is many times was the case when people went to the leaders with news they might or might not have wanted to hear, this could have been dangerous to Obadiah and Elijah without God's protection.  We must never let the fear of the powers of the world keep us from doing what God has called us to do.  Verse nine continues, And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me?  Obadiah was afraid to go and tell Ahab that he knew where Elijah was.  He asked what sin he had committed that would cause Elijah to go to Ahab with this news and be killed.  Obadiah had to recognize that Elijah was a prophet of God and that should have given him the faith to do what Eliah asked him to do without fear.  We should never be afraid to do what God asks us to do, no matter how He gets the message to us.  Verse ten continues, As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.  Obadiah said that Ahab had diligently searched for Elijah everywhere, and when people said they couldn't find him, he had them take an oath to this fact.  Matthew Henry says that Ahab wasn't looking for Elijah to kill him, but to get him to reverse the curse of the drought.  It would seem that Ahab, though he was worshipping other god's, still believed in the power of the true God, but he did not repent and ask forgiveness.  Recognizing that God exists is not enough to save us.  We must repent and accept Jesus Christ personally as our Savior and Lord in order to be saved.  Verse eleven states, And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.  Obadiah said that now Elijah wanted him to go and tell Ahab that he knew where Elijah was.  No matter how sinful or powerful they may be, we must always be willing to go to whomever God sends us to and share the good news, and Eljah was sending Obadiah under God's direction.  Verse twelve adds, And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth.  Obadiah said as soon as he went and told Ahab that he knew where Elijah was that the Spirit of the Lord would send him elsewhere and when Elijah could not be found that Ahab would kill him for the report.  As followers of Christ, we should never allow fear to determine whether or not we witness for Jesus Christ.  We need to tell people that He is here and that they can find Him if they will only look by faith.  Verse thirteen continues, Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?  Obadiah asked Elijah had he not heard that Obadiah had hidden a hundred prophets when Jezebel had ordered their death.  We may have done good things for God, but that doesn't mean that we should no longer do what He is calling us to do even if it puts us in danger.  Verse fourteen declares, And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me.  Obadiah said that if he went to Ahab and told him that Elijah was here and then he couldn't be found that Ahab would kill him.  If Obadiah recognized that Elijah was acting under the direction of God, he should not have been afraid to share the news with Ahab.  If we are open to the direction of the Holy Spirit, we should never be afraid to do what is asked of us as Christians, even if we believe that it could be dangerous.  Verse fifteen adds, And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day.  Elijah took an oath to God that he would show himself to Ahab before the day was over.  Of course, Obadiah would still need to put his faith in Elijah's word, and I believe more importantly in God Himself.  People may swear to God that they are going to do something and then not do it, but if we are followers of Christ, I believe that the Holy Spirit will always let us know whether to believe them or not.  Verse sixteen continues, So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah.  Obadiah did as Elijah asked and told Ahab where Elijah was, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.  As we witness today, we can only tell people where Jesus Christ is and then it is up to them whether or not they come to meet Him.