Priscilla Shirer - Find and Fulfill God's Calling on Your Life
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Summary
Drawing from her junior high volleyball days where the team often dropped the ball despite yelling «I got it,» Priscilla Shirer urges believers not to drop the «ball» of God’s purposes in a culture turning away from truth, using 1 Kings 18 and the overlooked figure of Obadiah as an example. Obadiah, a faithful steward in wicked King Ahab’s household, excelled at his secular job while secretly protecting God’s prophets and bridging the gap to connect Ahab with Elijah, paving the way for the Mount Carmel showdown. The message challenges us to recognize our strategic placement in everyday roles, maintain unwavering allegiance to God, and proactively preserve His truth so we don’t step back when divine opportunities come our way.
Opening Prayer for the Church
Lord, I thank You for this church. I thank You, Father, for what You have brought this church through and how You are going to use that to conform this body even more into the image of Your Son. I thank You, Lord, for the influence.
I thank You, Father, that no demonic attack or assignment will flourish against it. I pray, Father, that the years to come will be greater than the years that have gone by, and I pray, Lord, that today each and every individual—man or woman, boy or girl—I pray that all of us today will see ourselves, and most importantly, see You through the Scriptures. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
A Volleyball Memory
Okay, when I was growing up, in junior high school, I played volleyball. Now I want to make sure you get the picture here. Our volleyball team was horrible; we were terrible, but we looked good. We had good uniforms, and we enjoyed putting our uniforms on, coming out on the court like we were really set to do something. But really, we weren’t that great at the game at the time.
I went to a Christian private school around the corner from my house—a really small school—and because it was this little conservative Christian school, we wore culottes. I don’t know if anybody remembers culottes; they’ve kind of come back in fashion just a little bit now.
Playing in Culottes
But they were, you know, mid-calf length, very wide pants, and we wore those to play volleyball. It might be fashionable to walk down the street in those sorts of pants now, but we were playing a whole sport in them. So we had, you know, the jerseys, and then we had these long culottes—red and white uniforms—and we’d come out in our pristine uniforms, really thinking that we looked like something and that we were going to do something—maybe thinking, for some reason, those uniforms gave us some strength and power that we did not have in practice.
But it was clearly seen right after the team gave us the very first serve that we were in trouble. Ninety-five percent of the time, no matter what team we faced, we were usually in trouble.
Dropping the Ball
One of the things that got us into the most trouble, though, was that as we stood there in our volleyball stance, preparing ourselves for the serve, we would see that ball come sailing across the net, and several of us would yell, «I got it!» We’d say it loud and clear and without apology—"I got it! I got it! I got it!"—so we would hear three, four, or five «I got it!» yelling out from all over as, in our unorganized way, we all tried to get to the ball.
Because we were watching our other teammates and because we heard other people yelling «I got it, » you know what happened? That ball came sailing across the net, and we all backed up, thinking that somebody else had it. So the ball would crash down to the ground, and inevitably we would lose the point and lose the game because we kept on dropping the ball.
Don’t Drop the Ball of Faith
I want to encourage you, and I want to challenge you and me today about dropping the ball. Y’all, we can’t drop the ball—the ball of our faith, the ball of the truth of God cannot be dropped on our watch—not today, with the enemy advancing so clearly against the culture, against the globe, and against the things that are happening underneath the roof of our own house—the division sometimes we feel between us and our spouse, the trouble we feel bubbling up to the surface between us and our children, the struggles that we are having.
We have to stand firm and make sure that we don’t drop the ball when we’re the ones that have been called to a position where God has strategically placed us so that we can be the voice of truth, so that we can bring God’s perspective to bear, so that we can be the ones that have hope even when those around us might be hopeless.
You’re the One You’ve Been Waiting For
We’re the ones that are supposed to make sure we don’t spend our whole Christian experience saying, «I got it! I got it! I got it!» but then when the time comes to actually get it, we all step back and drop the ball. So many of us are waiting on everybody else to do what God has called you to do, what He has called me to do. Listen, you’re the one you’ve been waiting for.
There’s a portion of Scripture that keeps drawing my attention in this regard about not dropping the ball and about realizing how much we have strategically been placed by God in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in that classroom, on those Zoom calls, at that boardroom table, in that industry, in that genre, in that craft, in that office.
Strategically Placed by God
We’ve been placed there—strategically placed by God—so that when the ball of His purposes and plans comes sailing in our direction, we don’t step back hoping that somebody else will do it. We recognize we’re the ones who have been posted there by God to respond to His purposes that have come into our arena and into our paths.
First Kings chapter 18 is a portion of Scripture that has stuck with me so much in this regard. These chapters of the Old Testament are all about the prophet Elijah. You know, he takes a front row seat in these chapters; he is the premier prophet of the Old Testament.
Elijah’s Lasting Impact
He makes such an impact that not only is he mentioned throughout the Old Testament, but his influence reaches into the New Testament. By the time you get to the book of James, James—even Jesus Himself in the Gospels—references the work and ministry of Elijah. He’s so impactful, he must be, that you and I are still talking about him today in these modern times.
So the spotlight, the headliner in these passages is Elijah. And yet, in First Kings chapter 18, there is another guy named Obadiah.
Obadiah the Bridge
Obadiah was a trusted steward in King Ahab’s household. Many scholars I studied when I looked at this portion of Scripture either entirely skipped over him or they spent very little time in their writing talking about him. They don’t focus on him that much, and yet I’m drawn to him in this narrative about Elijah, where Elijah really is the headliner.
What draws me to him is First Kings 18, verse 16. Look at this: «So Obadiah went to meet King Ahab, and he told him that Elijah was there, and then Ahab went to meet Elijah.» Listen to that again: «Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.»
The Holy Connector
Now, I know you need some backstory here so that you can get the full clear picture of why this packs such a punch with me, and we’ll get there. But before we do, I want you to just take a moment to see that Obadiah is this bridge that exists between the godless consciousness of an entire nation represented by King Ahab and this divine agitator that is going to call an entire nation of people back to the one true God.
There is a link, a holy connector between Ahab and Elijah—Obadiah. He’s been strategically placed; he’s the holy connector and the link between these two individuals. Don’t miss the strategy and the intentionality of God in allowing Obadiah to be in the right place at the right time so that when God’s purposes were volleyed into his direction, he saw it clearly as from the hand of God and took it seriously and was intentional about it.
Everything Hinges on Obadiah
Everything that is about to occur happens because Obadiah doesn’t drop the ball. As a result of this meeting between Ahab and Elijah, that famous story is about to take place where Elijah marches up to Mount Carmel, and he demands that the people of God stop living a lukewarm, spiritually indifferent, and apathetic existence, and they choose this day whom they’re going to serve.
He looks at the prophets of Baal, the idol-worshippers, in their eyes and he says, «Today is the day you’re going to see my God rain down fire from heaven.» And he prays, and the skies open up and fire rains down on Mount Carmel, proving once and for all that Yahweh is the one true God. All that’s getting ready to happen because one man named Obadiah doesn’t drop the ball.
A Regular Guy Used by God
I want to encourage you about making sure that the ball doesn’t drop on your watch. I want you to see Obadiah here as a regular man in the story where two other characters are being highlighted—King Ahab with all his power and position, and Elijah as the prophet called by God to be the voice of truth—an unapologetic, clear truth in this time and day and age.
Between these two characters stands this one regular guy who recognizes that he too can be used by God if he just won’t drop the ball.
Obadiah’s Excellence
So, I thought we’d look at Obadiah just a little more closely. At the top of this chapter, in First Kings chapter 18, verse 3, we find out more about Obadiah. We find out that he had a relationship with King Ahab. It says that King Ahab gave him an assignment.
We find out that Obadiah is over Ahab’s household; he’s the COO of the king’s holdings. That means he is excellent at his job. He has built enough rapport and respect; he is trustworthy enough that when Ahab has an assignment that needs tending to, he calls Obadiah.
A Critical Assignment
In fact, this would have been such an important assignment. I won’t read all of the verses; read them in your own time. You will see that because of the three years of drought that the children of Israel have endured, they are suffering from a horrendous famine, and Obadiah is called by the king to go throughout the land and find, in the valleys and near the ravines, some green grass that might be left.
He says, «Because my horses and mules and our cattle are going to die if they don’t eat.» In other words, the whole balance of the economy rested on what Obadiah was about to be assigned to do.
Trusted by the King
This was such an important assignment that when King Ahab asked Obadiah to participate with him, King Ahab went one way to do the job, and he sent Obadiah the other direction, which means that this assignment was so important that the king said, «I have to take care of this myself.»
It was so important that the king didn’t pass it off to just anybody; he did it himself and called one companion that he trusted—someone loyal, someone he knew was excellent at his job, someone he knew would have integrity and do the job well and thoroughly. He called that guy and said, «I need you to help me with this critical and important assignment. The whole nation depends upon what you and I establish and find today.»
Doing Your Job Faithfully
Obadiah tells us that sometimes we are in position for the purposes of God to be volleyed into our path when we are just doing the job that is in front of us to do. It is while Obadiah is out searching for the grass that his employer has asked him to find that Elijah the prophet shows up and that he is able to have a dialogue with the prophet and take the prophet and introduce him to Ahab.
It is while he is just plain old flat out doing his job that the ball of God’s purposes comes sailing into his direction, and he finds himself strategically placed to be a key player in the narrative that God is building for His glory and for the good of His people.
Are You Trustworthy?
He is excellent in his field; he is trustworthy at his post. The question is, «Are you?» I’m talking about on that 8-to-5 job you have. I’m talking about in that task of raising those children or rearing those teenagers, the project that you’ve been given by your employer or the ministry leader, the volunteer services that you do, the organization that you lend your creativity to.
Are you a trusted partner in that work? When it is time for assignments to be done, for things to be accomplished, for creativity to be pulled on, are you the person that they can call because you’ve been loyal, and you’ve been trustworthy? You’ve had integrity.
Building Bridges
Because those are the people that will be called onto the field of play, and as you’re going about just doing your regular job, you will find that you are strategically placed to be the link, to be the holy connector between the King Ahabs and the Elijahs that need to meet each other so that God’s purposes can be served.
Do you see that you and I don’t have to be the King Ahabs, and we don’t necessarily have to be the Elijahs? There have got to be some faithful Obadiahs—some people who just keep showing up and washing the dishes and making the school plans and showing up on the Zoom calls and participating in the meetings and strategizing and being creative.
Faithful in the Mundane
We just keep showing up, and we do our job as unto the Lord excellently, recognizing that every time we are on assignment, it is an opportunity to make sure that the ball of God’s purpose is not dropped. Not on our watch, not today.
Think about Joseph in the Old Testament—he became the prime minister of Egypt. He was at a secular post when he was a very young man. But it is in this post that God’s sovereignty will volley circumstances into his life, and he becomes a strategic player in the grand scope of what God is doing in His redemption story.
Biblical Examples of Placement
Or Daniel—he became one of the most significant and influential men in the Babylonian and Medo-Persian Empire. Or Nehemiah—he’s described as being the cupbearer to the king; that’s his job, but he leverages that position to secure what is needed to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
And then there’s Esther—Esther rises up within the ranks of the Persian Empire, and here she is strategically placed so that at the right time, she is in position for such a time as this to spare the Jews from complete annihilation.
Strategic in Everyday Roles
Listen, I venture to say that those of us who are in full-time ministry, and I can say that because I’m one of them, those of us who are in full-time ministry, listen, this is not necessarily the place where the most sturdy bridges are built between the Ahab and the Elijah—the people who are carriers of the truth of God and those that are in positions of power and strategy and influence that call both together to the Mount Carmels—the moment of decision where people are going to have to stop living with one foot of allegiance over here and another allegiance over here, where they’re going to be called to make a decision about the God that they serve.
The people who are most strategic in that aren’t necessarily the people who are in full-time ministry. It’s the comedians and the actors; it’s the folks in film and in politics; it’s the people who are in music; it’s the folks that are in the arts; it’s the social justice advocates, the innovators, the storytellers, the accountants, the teachers, the lawyers, the doctors, the sanitation workers.
Refuse to Drop the Ball
It’s these people that no matter the field they’re in, they recognize they are strategically placed by a holy God for His glory, and they refuse to drop the ball. So they build rapport there, they establish a trustworthy relationship and reputation. They have integrity.
So when the time comes for them to bring Elijah to the table, they haven’t burnt so many bridges along the way that people don’t want to receive and respond to what they’re bringing. Stop devaluing your post, sis or brother. Stop feeling like where you are is not significant enough.
Divine Appointment
Obadiah, do you realize that this assignment that you’re on—the ball of God’s purposes is getting ready to be sent your way? Don’t drop the ball; we’re counting on you. It’s by divine appointment that you’re in that neighborhood. It’s by divine appointment that you, university student, are in that classroom.
It’s by divine appointment that you, high school student, walk down those halls or that you’re in that Zoom class. It’s by divine appointment that you’re a part of that outreach organization; it’s strategic. You are supposed to be in that household. Without you in that household, there won’t be anybody to recognize God’s purposes when they come so that that ball is not dropped.
Credibility Opens Doors
It’s the surgeon who has garnered so much credibility because he’s done his job so well for so long that the administration can no longer ignore matters of faith that are permanent fixtures at the meetings that that surgeon hosts. It’s the professional athlete who’s so incredibly good on the field or the court or the baseball diamond that the young person leans in and pays attention to them when that athlete shares their heart about deeper spiritual things.
It’s the social justice advocate who has ushered in the implementation of so many actual changes—they haven’t just talked a good game, but they’ve actually accomplished something and instituted change that now they are listened to because they’ve got credibility over the long haul. They’ve been excellent at their craft so that now they are ready to connect the Ahabs and the Elijahs.
Do It for God’s Glory
They’re all willing to come to the table based on the recommendation of a person who has built rapport with them over the long haul. So whatever it is that you do, listen, do it with all your might and for the glory of God. The ball of God’s purposes is on the way to you—wherever it is that you are right now.
Obadiah was not just in a strategic position. I want you to see his unwavering pledge.
Risking His Life
Each day of Obadiah’s life—his actual life hung in the balance. Remember, he was living during the days of Jezebel and King Ahab; they were killing anyone and everyone who was faithful to Yahweh. So we find that Obadiah is actually described in verse 3 as someone who had an unwavering pledge.
Despite the fact that his very life would have been in danger—and he knew that, he was very aware of that—and yet he is described in verse 3 not only as someone who did his job well but as someone who feared the Lord greatly even as he did it. This is the defining resolve of Obadiah’s life and his legacy.
Fearing the Lord Greatly
Despite his surroundings, despite the decline in morality in the culture, despite the legislation of immorality and idolatry, his allegiance was pledged once and for all. Now I want you to notice something at the top of verse 4. This connecting phrase is at the top of verse 4, and it says, «For it came about.»
That’s a connection. They want you to connect the bottom of verse 3 with what’s about to happen in verse 4. It says at the end of verse 3, «He feared the Lord greatly.» Then verse 4 basically says, «And as a result of that, here’s what happens.»
Protecting the Prophets
Verse 4—when Jezebel was destroying the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took hundreds of them, he hid them by fifties in caves, and he provided them with bread and water. Oh, don’t miss this! The unwavering resolve and pledge and allegiance to Yahweh that Obadiah had wasn’t in theory; it worked itself out practically in the fact that when the prophets of Baal were being actively destroyed by Jezebel—when she was trying, and Ahab was trying, to make sure that the presence of God, the truth of God, the standard of God, the one true God, was torn down in society—we find Obadiah fiercely protecting and preserving the prophets of God, which represented the standard of God in that day and age.
This wasn’t some passive, inactive mission; he was risking his very life to harbor fugitives and sustain them with bread and water to ensure that the worship of Yahweh survived this devastating time period. His goal was to protect and preserve the presence of God, and he was willing to work proactively to make sure that happened.
Proactive Preservation
Obadiah shows us that not only do we have to be people who are strategically placed and recognize that we are, but people who have an unwavering pledge that manifests itself in our proactive preservation of the truth of God in a society that is very strategically and intentionally turning its back on the one true God.
How are you using your position within your circle of friends, the co-workers that you have within your own home, to make sure this ball is not dropped on your watch? How are you making sure that you are being the truth of God, the perspective of God to bear in every circumstance in which you find yourself?
Preserving Truth in Culture
How are you preserving and protecting the standard, the truth of God, amidst a culture that is turning its back on God? Modern-day Obadiah, do you realize it’s you and it’s me who have to make sure this ball is not dropped during a time when we are in cancel culture—when to stand for righteousness, to stand for the truth of God, unapologetically in love, but clearly making sure that our allegiance is firmly rooted in the truth of God?
We’re going to have to be people that will make sure that we preserve and honor the truth of God even in spite of the culture in which we live.
No Accidents with God
And it’s while Obadiah is doing this that he accidentally runs into Elijah. It’s while you’re just, you know, washing those dishes, doing the next thing. It’s while you’re showing up to change those dirty diapers. It’s while you’re continuing to teach and move forward with the difficulties of online learning with those students, but you keep showing up.
It’s while you, entrepreneur, keep gathering those employees to the table despite the chaos that may have come as a result of these past months into your business or your ministry leader—it’s when you just keep on showing up and doing what God has called you to do. It’s when you are doing that faithfully, believe that God’s purposes accidentally show up into your life.
Divine Destiny in Mundane Tasks
But it is no accident; it’s God volleying His purposes and plans your direction because that’s where He needed you and me all along, so that we could be in place not to just yell «I got it!» but to actually make sure that the ball of God’s purposes is not dropped on our watch. There are no accidents with God. He is sovereign and providential.
He makes sure that we are the Obadiahs who are in the right place at the right time, so that even the most mundane tasks have attached to them divine destiny. You are the connection between Ahab and Elijah.
Keep Your Eyes Open
In fact, Obadiah, the reason why I think you were supposed to be tuned in on this particular day and heed what it is that God wanted to show you from these little simple verses from a guy that is often overlooked within this story, where other people are highlighted and celebrated and underscored, is because He wants you to know that the ball of His purposes is on the way—that if you will keep your spiritual eyes peeled to the horizon, you’re getting ready to see that the ball of God’s purposes and His plans are headed in your direction.
And I implore you, by the power of Almighty God, not to let the ball drop on your watch, and I can’t let it drop on mine.
Faithful in the Dim Light
Obadiah wasn’t in the spotlight, and maybe neither are you. He was just in the dim light of responsibility and assigned tasks, faithfully putting one foot in front of the other and doing the job that was given him to do. But all the while, he had no idea that he was getting ready to build a bridge of trust between him and the king in the natural realm, and that that was going to forge the firm foundation necessary for the supernatural keg of God’s fire that was about to fall on Mount Carmel.
What will God do if you and I just make sure we don’t drop the ball?
Closing Prayer
Lord, I pray that in Jesus' name You would give us eyes to see, that You would give us a clear perspective on the tasks that You have given our hands to do. Make us diligent; give us integrity, Father. And I pray when we see the ball of Your purposes sailing in our direction, we will refuse to let the ball drop on our watch. In Jesus' name, amen.