Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” 1 Kings 19:18.
Blessed Lord I pray that You will allow our eyes to be opened to see Your people everywhere that we might not be under the illusion that we are the only ones who know and serve You. Thank You in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
When we embarked upon this journey following Elijah, we started at perhaps what we could call the darkest moment in His life. Yet it started out as one of those extraordinary events that every worker of, and for God, hope to experience in his or her lifetime. And it surely looks good on your resumé. He had had a truly successful evangelistic campaign. It would seem as if the entire kingdom of Israel had returned to the Lord!
They had been revived and now they were ready for reformation! Baal’s and Asherah’s prophets have been wiped out of the history of Israel (at least for now). And under his preaching, repentant sinners, with one accord, have declared in a mighty great crescendo, “The Lord, He is God!” “The Lord, He is God!” He has preached with power and the Spirit has confirmed it with “signs and wonders.” Indeed, it has been a high day in Israel!
But people who are on an assignment for God know that we are taken to the mountaintop to catch a glimpse of the glory of God and receive inspiration. But the work He has called us to do, is in the valleys and the highways and byways. So coming down from the mountaintop is necessary to get the work done! At the bottom of the hill we do not always receive a hero’s welcome. Oftentimes there are complaints, and unrest, and trouble, waiting.
For Elijah it was no different. He received a message that sent shock waves throughout his body. His life was being threatened. In twenty-four hours or less, he would be executed! In that moment, the scene of glory that had lit up Mount Carmel was vanished from sight. All the man of God could see were the black clouds of despair hanging over his head!
If that were not bad enough, the message was coming from a woman; ruthless queen Jezebel who had a fame for making her threats good. And in a mode of self preservation, the man of God ran for his life! In our more liberal Western culture it may be hard for us to understand what the prophet of God experienced at that moment in a male dominated culture!. It is quite possible that the low to which he fell was almost as great as the high he had experienced just hours before! Perhaps if the threat had come from Ahab the king, it would have been equally frightening, but without the humiliation!
Something that may help those who have received an assignment from the Lord is to remember, that in ministry, it is all about God! I truly believe that if this could always be our focus we would not be so affected by the threats, criticisms, complaints, and all the negativism that can sometimes throw a damper on the assignment. Let us be certain of this one thing, that we are being faithful in complying with our assignment! We are not called to be popular or to seek the favor of other human beings. We do not need acclamation or recognition. We need only God’s anointing, His favor, and His approval!
We have been given an assignment by the Almighty, and by His grace we will accomplish it, for His glory! We simply show up! He does the work. The glory belongs to Him! He is the Master of the Assignment!