The story of the Prophet Elijah is such a powerful one on so many fronts. Whether it is the showdown on Mt. Carmel against the prophets of Baal, raising the widow’s son from the dead, the boldness to confront Ahab to his face, or the chariot of fire taking him from this life, there is no shortage of awe-inspiring moments in the life of this man of God. This morning, however, I want to think about one in particular.
During that climactic showdown on Mt. Carmel in 1 Kings 18, Elijah makes a statement. Surveying the prophets of Baal he says, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men” (v.22). Think about that for a minute, specifically that first statement. “It’s only me. There is no one else. No reinforcements are coming. There are no fans in my section. I don’t have a team. I don’t have a support system. It’s only me.” Yet, we know that God listens to the call of Elijah, fire falls from heaven, and that ultimately the Hebrew God shows Himself to be the one true God. That is the beauty of this passage.
Elijah was not, in fact, alone. Instead, there were 7000 who had not bent the knee the Baal, but for all intents and purposes his statement stood. Those 7000 were paralyzed with fear, too afraid to act, and so in his darkest moment, as the walls closed around him, Elijah uttered that statement that it was only him left. Years earlier King David, the Sweet Psalmist, penned the famed Psalm 23 and its faith-filled statement that “Though I walk through the valley of death, I shall fear no evil” (v.4). Perhaps even this might have gone through Elijah’s mind as he stood, one against many. But as the Reformer John Knox famously said, “Any man with God is in the majority”.
Elijah’s loneliness and fear did not get the better of him here (though it did shortly after), and in a world that had crushed out other followers of God, he stood, defiant, with his faith placed in his LORD. The question this must cause us each to ask ourselves is, as the culture grows darker and the men and women of God become more scarce, would our faith in God stand strong even if we had to utter that same phrase as Elijah, that “It’s only me”? Or is it all a show, a cultural Christianity which will crumble the moment it meets opposition? The Scriptures tell us to examine ourselves and whether we be in the faith, so let that be a challenge for you this morning. As our world shifts, where do you stand? If you find that, upon examination, you don’t like what you see, then know today that all it takes is to rest in Christ. To trust not your own faithfulness but His, and in doing so you will be transformed, day by day, more into His image. Continue resting in Him and seeking Him and surely, when the day comes, we will not shy from the world around us.