All Alone
A sermon by
I Kings 19:1-18
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SERMON: All Alone
Elijah felt so alone. Keep in mind what had just transpired. He had staged a dramatic confrontation with the prophets of Baal. He and they had each laid out an animal sacrifice, and had called upon their respective Gods to consume the sacrifice with fire.
The prophets of Baal had danced about, called out, and even cut themselves in an attempt to get a response from their god, but nothing had happened. Elijah had poured great vats of water over his sacrifice just to demonstrate the full range of God's power, and had said a quiet prayer. God had responded by sending a roaring blaze that had consumed, not only the sacrifice, but also the prophets of Baal.
It was an impressive victory, but it didn't seem to mean anything. Nobody came to rally around Elijah. There was no public demonstration of support. Jezebel, the king's wife, was not impressed. Instead of backing away, she determined to get even with Elijah.
So may the gods do to me, and more also,
if I do not make your life like the life of one of them
by this time tomorrow (v. 2).
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I am reminded of Jesus comment to the man who had gone to hell and wanted to warn his brothers. Jesus had said that, if they did not believe Moses and the prophets, they would not believe someone who returned from the dead. So it was with Jezebel. She had her mind made up, and neither Elijah nor God was going to confuse her with the facts. She had always been able to hire people talented with magic, and she wasn't going to believe in God simply because her hirelings had failed her this time.
So Elijah was afraid. Think of it. He had just stood strong as an oak, toe-to-toe with the prophets of Baal, and had won. He had said, "God is going to incinerate that sacrifice, but first let's pour water over it." How audacious! He reminds me a bit of Babe Ruth, who would step up to the plate and point to the place in the bleachers where he would hit his home run. And it had worked. God came breathing fire from heaven, and had vindicated Elijah's faith completely.
And now, Elijah was afraid. A woman said, "I'm going to get you for that, Elijah," and she had scared him silly. It just doesn't make any sense at all, does it. But Elijah was human, and we humans often don't make much sense. So Elijah sat under a broom tree and prayed that he might die.
It is enough; now O Lord, take away my life,
for I am no better than my ancestors (v. 4).
God sent an angel to care for Elijah—to feed him and nurture him. The angel sustained Elijah, who found himself 40 days later in a cave at Horeb—God's mountain. There God came to him.
What are you doing here, Elijah?
A good question from God to a man who had so recently seen God's great power in action! "What are you doing here? You have seen my power. I have been on your side. Now you have run away. You have going into hiding. You are afraid. What are you doing here?" Elijah replied:
I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts;
for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant,
thrown down your altars,
and killed your prophets with the sword.
A alone am left,
and they are seeking my life, to take it away (v.10).
So God said,
Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord,
for the Lord is about to pass by.
Now there was a great wind,
so strong that it was splitting mountains
and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord,
but the Lord was not in the wind;
and after the wind an earthquake;
and after the earthquake a fire;
and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.
(vv. 11-12)
And God was in that silence. God told Elijah that he was about to destroy the wicked people of Israel. But then God said,
I will leave seven thousand in Israel,
all the knees that have not bowed to Baal,
and every mouth that has not kissed him (v. 18).
Seven thousand Godly people! Elijah wasn't alone after all. He was a part of the fellowship of the faithful, from whom God would rebuild his people.
I like this story. For one thing, I like the fact that God didn't just blow Elijah away. He was so patient with Elijah, even though Elijah was so foolish. I like that part of the story, because it makes me hope that God will also be patient with me when I am foolish.
I have seen God's power too—perhaps not in the form of a roaring fire from Heaven—but I have observed God's action in my own life. He has answered my prayers. He has made unsolvable problems melt away. He has saved me regularly. He provides for me day by day.
But I get discouraged. I crawl away into my cave, and cry, "God, why do I have to work so hard?" "Why did my secretary quit?" "Why do I never win the Reader's Digest Sweepstakes?" "Why can't I be smarter, so I won't have to work so hard?" If God was patient with Elijah's foolishness, perhaps he will be patient with mine.
And I have felt all alone in the Lord. I used to be active in the Young Adults Group in a large New York City church. I was there, in part, because I was looking for a wife and a church seemed like a good place to find a wife. There were some fine Christians in that group, but many of the people in leadership positions seemed almost "Post-Christian." They wanted the group to have social activities and service projects, but they didn't want to hear Jesus mentioned very often. They quickly labeled me as a fundamentalist because of my conservative theology, and then they discounted my opinions because I was a fundamentalist. I don't think of myself as a fundamentalist, and I didn't like being discounted like that. I was frustrated, and I was lonely. I had some idea how Elijah felt.
But the Lord showed Himself to me. He didn't show Himself to me in a powerful wind or an earthquake or a fire. He showed Himself to me in the still, small voice of a person who would come to me after one of our Young Adult meetings, saying "Thanks for getting that speaker for us," or "Thanks for speaking up," or "I appreciate the balance that you bring to this group." That didn't happen every week—or even every month—but, when it happened, it reminded me that God had not left me alone.
We would like God to make His presence known in dramatic ways—we want fire from Heaven, or at least a healing from cancer. But if we really want to experience God's presence and power in our lives, we need to keep our ears attuned to the still, small voice. In most of our days, God doesn't reveal Himself in the great wind, earthquake or fire. In most of our days, God reveals Himself in our interaction with our family and neighbors; He reveals Himself in the routine of our day-to-day living; He reveals Himself in the quiet moment when we are, for a change, listening; He reveals Himself in the Sunday worship service that we didn't even feel like attending, because we were tired, and we would rather be sitting at home reading the comic strips or the sports pages.
God makes His presence known in good times and in bad—but especially in bad times. Winston Churchill once said, "Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it." So it is that our spiritual lives rise to their greatest heights in the most difficult of times.
The late Henri Nouwen, Catholic priest, author, spritual giant, and professor at Yale, told this story:
"This afternoon at three o'clock, my sister called from Holland to tell me that my sister-in-law had given birth to a daughter who was diagnosed as suffering from Down Syndrome....
"I know that Laurent and Heiltjen's love is being tested.... I pray tonight for them that they will be able to grow in love because of Laura, and that they will discover in her the presence of God in their lives.
"Laura is going to be important for all of us in the family. We have never had a "weak" person among us. We all are hardworking, ambitious, and successful people who seldom have had to experience powerlessness. Now Laura enters and tells us a totally new story, a story of weakness, brokenness, vulnerability, and total dependency. Laura, who always will be a child, will teach us the way of Christ as no one will ever be able to do" (Gracias!, pg 14-15.)
— Copyright 2006, Richard Niell Donovan