Things looked bleak. It seemed like everyone was giving up on God, turning away from worshiping him. There was a new god in town: Baal.
Elijah refused to give up on the God of Israel, the true and living God, Maker of heaven and earth. God blessed Elijah with a miraculous victory over the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18-19).
Despite the great victory over Baal’s prophets, things didn’t seem to get any better. Elijah’s life was threatened by the evil queen, Jezebel. She was a devoted follower of Baal.
Elijah was afraid. He was discouraged. He fled.
The frightened prophet ended up in a cave on Mt. Horeb. God asked him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” The prophet explained that everyone had abandoned worshiping God. He was the only one left and they wanted to kill him.
God told Elijah to stand on the mountain in his presence. When he did, there came a mighty wind, but God was not in the wind. Then there was an earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake. Then fire, but God was not in the fire.
After the fire was a still small voice. Elijah covered his face and went out to meet the Lord. The discouraged prophet told God all his troubles, how he was the only true worshiper left, how they were trying to take his life. What was the point in carrying on?
God responded to Elijah’s discouragement in two ways. First, he gave Elijah some things to do. It was no time to give up and stop working.
Second, God told Elijah that he was not alone. Seven thousand had not turned away to worship Baal. They were still faithful to the Lord.
Generations later, the Apostle Paul referred to Elijah’s experience. In Paul’s day, most Jews were rejecting Jesus as God’s promised Savior. Like Elijah, some people were questioning God’s work, wondering if it was failing.
Paul pointed out that God had a remnant chosen by his grace. God always has a remnant chosen by his grace, in the Old Testament, in the early days of the Church, and now.
Today, followers of Jesus may be tempted to adopt Elijah’s pessimism. We can easily feel outnumbered by those who have turned their backs on worshiping and serving God. After all, how would we assess the spiritual condition of our nation today? Things do look pretty bleak.
How would we assess the spiritual condition of the churches in our nation? It would be easy to give in to discouragement because of the spiritual decline we see all around us.
Remember God’s answer to Elijah. I have left seven thousand for myself. The first-century apostle put it like this: “In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace.” Chosen by grace means it is according to God’s sovereign choice and plan. God has not lost control of the situation!
God’s people have always tended to be a remnant. If this is true in our day, we should not be surprised. Elijah implied that God was failing. God assured him that was not the case. Neither is God failing today.
Elijah was acting out of his fear of Jezebel. Elijah’s trust in God should have been greater than his fear of Jezebel. Our trust in God must be greater than our fear of this world’s powers.
God gave Elijah work to do. It was no time to quit. It is no time for us to quit. God has work for us to do because his kingdom plan is advancing toward the inevitable victory.
God does some of his best work when things look bleak. When Jesus was dying on the cross, God was providing salvation for the world. We can trust him and continue his work, for his work will overcome all obstacles and lead us to the ultimate triumph.
May God’s Spirit inspire and enable us to be faithful despite discouraging circumstances,
Brother Richard Foster
brotherrichardsblog.com 