The Bible says the sacrifice of the Lord is a broken heart. It further states that a broken and a contrite spirit, God will not refuse. It is evident that Ahab lacked this important virtue. From his story, it is clear that time alone cannot automatically produce this virtue in anyone. It had been more than three years since Ahab saw the prophet or heard from him. That was long enough for the king to think things over and be convicted of his many evils. It is strange to note here that rather than be broken under God, the difficulties induced by famine did not get him any close. He was still in the blame game. He accused Elijah as a troubler of Israel. There were only two men so addressed in the Bible. Joshua addressed Achan as a troubler of Israel, and justifiably so. It was because of his sin that Israel lost the first round of battle at Ai. Ahab labelled Elijah as a troubler of the nation without warrant. Reality check would show that Ahab was the real troubler because of his evils and hardness of heart.

“A hardened heart is but a step to destruction…People don’t inherit hardened heart; they cultivate it over time through chains of disobedience to the Spirit of God.”

When a heart is hardened it cannot pick any spiritual signals sent by God. A hardened heart is but a step to destruction. And this was proved in the case of Ahab who eventually met his death in Ramoth-Gilead. People don’t inherit hardened heart; they cultivate it over time through chains of disobedience to the Spirit of God. It is important to take seriously the minute operations of the Spirit in our everyday life. If you notice any deviations from the Spirit’s guide, don’t delay in retracing your steps.