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Do You Feel Alone?
April 20, 2013

The pursuit of pure religion can easily make one feel alone. The essence of the phrase pure religion suggests that religion can be impure. Money is stolen, affairs are had, people are deceived and innocence is forcibly taken. Those who see these unfold start with a feeling of disbelief and many will end with thoughts of cynicism. Some have their faith shattered and question God. Of those who question God, some will question the very existence of God, and others will question why God allowed something to happen. It's easiest to feel this way when you feel isolated. The reality is, though we may feel isolated, every action we take, and every action taken by another person impacts others. We impact others and they impact us, and there is no escaping this reality. Yet in all of this, we sometimes feel alone. Do you feel alone? If you do, take heart because God is probably closer to you than you may think. Even the very great in the Bible have felt alone until God led them to see differently. Elijah the prophet was one of those who felt alone. When I recently wrote about Malachi's curse, Malachi referenced the prophet Elijah. So let's go back in time and take a look at what Elijah saw and what he overlooked, and begin to understand what we can take from it.

1 Kings 19:1-18
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

Elijah had just called upon God to perform a major miracle establishing the power of God over the power of Baal, and for this the masses helped him slay the prophets of Baal, and this upset the ruling class. A message of impending death was delivered to Elijah at the request of Jezebel. Understanding the power of the queen, he fled for his life. After a day's journey, he had become convinced his fate was to die and he was ready to give in when an angel of God intervened for him. The word of the Lord came to Elijah and might have told him to stop feeling sorry for himself. What we have recorded for us is a directive given to him by God to return from where he came because even though Elijah felt alone, especially in his recent encounter with the prophets of Baal and the prophets of the grove, God had more than eight times the number of the prophets in reserve. Seven thousand had not bowed the knee to Baal. And what is stunning about this is that immediately prior to this doubt, God allowed Elijah to be part of a major miracle. This major miracle started with a war of words and who, God or Baal, was more powerful. The eyes of the nation were focused on this encounter as the prophets staged their debate. The only words were words calling on Baal, Elijah calling on God, and just to annoy them, words of mocking directed at the prophets of Baal as an offering was prepared. To make matters short, Elijah won the debate and used his victory to have the prophets of Baal slain. He was riding high, and then just a few days later, he thought he was abandoned. Elijah didn't see anyone else and forgot that God was with him. He forgot that God does not abandon those who are called and led by his spirit.

Hebrews 13:5
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

No matter how hard a situation may seem, we need to stay grounded in faith, remembering the new commandment given by Jesus, remembering our need to practice pure religion. We cannot be swayed by what may be around us or give in to popular opinion when it is wrong just because it may be popular. In reading this example of Elijah, doing the right thing may seem easy, but in real life it is not always so. Sometimes doing the right thing is very hard and the Bible describes this solid character of faith in various verses. Below is just one.

Proverbs 12:7
The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.

Just as Elijah withstood the prophets of Baal and survived the evil plotting of the queen, so we too in this modern age will stand as we we celebrate what is good, embrace what is good, and do what is good.

All verses are from the King James Version.
This site provided by Tom Laign. To all who may believe differently, I also extend peace and love.
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