Devotional:You’re Not Alone:1 Kings 19:9-18

Sometimes we may feel alone. It may seem that we are the only person that has a certain point of view on an issue. It may seem that no one knows our struggle and understands our pain. We may feel as if no one cares. A Christian may feel that they are alone when the Lord has called them to do something that He wants done and they see no one that stands with them. I remember a time when I was just a teenager. There was a discussion and debate over an issue in our church. I remember that my mother took a position and no one else voiced that they shared her opinion. The discussion/debate became a little heated. People were saying things that attacked my mother’s character and knowledge of the word or God. I saw my mother do something that I had never seen her do before, and I never saw her do it again. My mother stood to her feet. No one else stood with her. Yet, my mother said what she needed to say, and then she sat down. I have thought about this incident many times over the years of my life. It has given me the courage to stick to my convictions even when I felt that I was alone. Does God leave us alone when we stand for Him?

In 1 Kings 17-19 we read the story of Elijah, a prophet of the Lord. Three times in the story Elijah states that He is alone (See 1 Kings 18:22; 19:10, 14). In the story God calls Elijah to stand against Ahab and Jezebel the king and queen of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. God sends Elijah to live alone at a brook because God will stop the rain and there will be hunger and thirst in the land. After three years of famine the Lord sends Elijah to challenge the prophets of Baal. The people will see that the Lord is God. Elijah stands alone against 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah (1 Kgs 18:19). In this encounter the Lord is proven to be God and the prophets of Baal are destroyed. Do you think that one victory against the enemy will end the war?

Queen Jezebel threatens to kill Elijah and he runs for his life. God comes to Elijah in a cave. The Lord asked Elijah, “‘what are you doing here, Elijah’” (1 Kg. 19:9). In verse 10 Elijah expresses his feeling of being alone. God commands Elijah to go and stand on the mountain before the Lord. Elijah hears the voice of God asking him why he is here. Again, Elijah says that he is alone. He is the only prophet left that speaks for the Lord. In reply to Elijah, the Lord says, “‘Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him’” (1 Kgs. 19:18, NASB). In this, the Lord assures the prophet that he is not alone. There are others that he does not know that share in his struggles. There are others that are standing firm for the Lord; and they have not bowed to the Baals.

This story tells us one thing. Regardless to our feelings we are not alone. God is with us, and there are other people that have the same feelings and struggles that we have.

Prayer: Lord God, what a wonderful blessing it is to know that we are not alone. Amen.