Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 16:29-33, 1 Kings 17:1-7, 1 Kings 18:1-46
One of my less-flattering character traits is a tendency to change my mind. As someone who is more emotional and intuitively wired, I usually make decisions based on gut instinct. The challenge is that my feelings about something can change within hours as new information comes in. Despite this tendency, I want to be a person who isn’t wishy-washy but lives from a place of deep inner commitment. After all, this reflects God’s steadfast love for us.
In the story of Elijah, we feel the prophet’s exasperation when he called Israel out on their lack of commitment. “How long will you waver between two opinions?”, he challenged the Israelites on Mount Carmel. “‘If the LORD is God, follow him. But if Baal, follow him.’ But the people didn’t answer him a word” (1Kings 18:21). On his own, Elijah’s reprimand seems like no match for a deceived nation and 850 false prophets (v.19). But his loyalty to Yahweh was. It took Elijah’s obedience to his calling and an irrefutable sign of God’s power to reawaken the Israelites.
I’m sure Elijah was trembling in his boots. But his unwavering commitment is admirable. Author Frederick Buechner calls this “whistling in the dark.” It’s the choice to live from a place of faith and trust even when your circumstances give you every reason to doubt the safety of your own life. Despite the widespread betrayal, Elijah spoke from an inner confidence which we see in verse 15 when he said, “As the LORD of Armies lives, in whose presence I stand, today I will present myself to Ahab.”
In whose presence I stand.
I can only hope to live in such a way during hard times, remaining rooted in Jesus. It’s not easy. But we have a whole spiritual family of men and women who shook in their boots yet followed the Lord—or returned to Him after walking away. When circumstances seem to indicate the absence of divine involvement (think deferred hopes, tragedy, or any prolonged time of confusion), our trust has a way of eroding. Thank God for His faithfulness and for elevating voices like Elijah’s who remind us of the way back home.
Changing our minds about where to eat for dinner isn’t quite the same as switching loyalties from Yahweh to Baal. Nevertheless, may we be single-hearted, single-minded, and fiercely committed to the God who holds all things together and will never leave us. The next time we feel afraid or confused, let’s remember that we stand in the presence of the Lord of Armies. I pray that as we journey with God, our lived experience with His love assures us down to our bones that He is trustworthy and worth following, come what may.
Written by Bailey Gillespie
