1 Kings 21: When the Lord Says, “Lay It Down"
- Kami Pentecost
- Aug 17
- 3 min read
This morning was unexpected in the best way. I felt a prompting earlier this week to do an impromptu "movement & meditation" with the girls from The Well Encounter. Several of the gals jumped in—nothing formal, just light movement, meditation on the Word, and the power of doing It In community. We met at 8 a.m., stretched a little, opened up our Bibles, and just let the Lord speak. Today's reading was 1 Kings 21. What a heavy chapter, yeesh. Ya'll...God spoke—In the sweetest, simplest AND very profound way for me.
“One day Ahab said to Naboth, ‘Since your vineyard is so convenient to my palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it.’”It doesn’t sound terrible at first." 1 Kings 21:2
Ahab wasn't yelling. He’s wasn't threatening. He just wanted the vineyard. He was willing to give whatever Naboth required...
“Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded." 1 Kings 21:7
It's as If I heard, If you can take it, why wouldn’t you? Talk about timing...and revealing. Just because I can doesn’t mean I should.
Things went downhill fast. Ahab got what he wanted—at a terrible cost.
“But when Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in burlap, and fasted. He even slept in burlap and went about in deep mourning... because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his lifetime. It will happen to his sons; I will destroy his dynasty." 1 Kings 21: 27-29
I love how the Lord again, extends grace to Ahab even after all the evil he did. The Lord, In his kindness, responded mercifully...and yet...the consequence didn’t disappear.
I’ve been in a quiet, private wrestle with the Lord about alcohol for almost a decade. In my mind to struggle with alcohol one must drink every day. For me...there’ve been seasons where I’ve used it to numb. To cope. To escape. I’ve wrestled with my use of It In therapy, In meetings, with friends and I’ve sat with Jesus. I still find myself asking:Why can others drink, but I can’t? As I read
Ahab’s story today, I realized: It wasn’t about the vineyard. It was about entitlement—the refusal to
surrender what God wasn’t giving.
This Is the posture He’s been challenging in me.
For me, this isn’t about alcohol being inherently wrong. It’s about obedience. It’s about what the Lord has asked me to lay down. This morning, in the quiet stretch of scripture and movement, I heard it clearly: Stop asking questions...just Lay it down. Don’t label it. Don’t future-trip. Just hand it to Me.
Oh I saw myself in AHAB...I’ve thrown fits in my own way. I’ve pouted. Bargained. Compared. Bottom line, Ive spent WAY TOO MUCH TIME wrestling with It.
Today, I was asked to obey, to trust, to lay it down! PERIOD.
I don’t want the next generation carrying a weight I refused to surrender. I’ve seen what that looks like. I’ve lived it. I refuse to pass It down If I can help It at all. I want freedom. I want healing. Is this the "thorn in the flesh" Paul speaks of?
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