It's easy to feel pessimistic about the Church, but be encouraged by God's powerful, yet gentle whisper.
1 Kings 19
CONTEXT: Elijah just witnessed God send fire from heaven. Elijah expected all of Israel to take notice that the LORD is God, not Baal, but nothing changed, and wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were hunting him down.
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my fathers.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
15 The LORD said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 27: The Holy Catholic Church
We believe and confess
one single catholic (universal) church—
a holy congregation and gathering
of true Christian believers,
awaiting their entire salvation in Jesus Christ
being washed by his blood,
and sanctified and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
This church has existed from the beginning of the world
and will last until the end,
as appears from the fact
that Christ is eternal King
who cannot be without subjects.
And this holy church is preserved by God
against the rage of the whole world,
even though for a time
it may appear very small
in the eyes of men—
as though it were snuffed out.
For example,
during the very dangerous time of Ahab
the Lord preserved for himself seven thousand men
who did not bend their knees to Baal.
And so this holy church
is not confined,
bound,
or limited to a certain place or certain persons.
But it is spread and dispersed
throughout the entire world,
though still joined and united
in heart and will,
in one and the same Spirit,
by the power of faith.
Summary
Maybe you've heard the term before: Elijah syndrome. That's a condition that many of us, especially those of us who are theologically conservative, often fall into where we think that we're the only good solid church left and that everyone else has fallen away. Like Elijah, we tell God "I've had enough, LORD. Take me now."
It's not hard to understand why Elijah felt this way. His hair was probably still slightly singed after seeing God's awesome display of fire consume his drenched altar. The prophets of Baal had been humiliated, having danced themselves into a frenzy, even cutting themselves in hopes of drawing Baal's attention, but unsurprisingly the fictional god was silent.
Yet Israel didn't experience the mass revival Elijah had expected. Once again God had proved His might in a tangible way visible to everyone, but yet nobody's hearts seemed changed. You've probably felt the same loneliness & discouragement Elijah felt; It seems like so many of our friends and neighbors have rejected God's covenant, and that so many other churches have let go of the truth.
Like Elijah, we often think we're the only ones left.
Dig Deeper
What a contrast in how God made Himself known! At Mount Carmel, God came down in a furious consuming fire. But here on a different mountain, Elijah experienced His presence in a far different way. There still were awesome displays of divine power: rock shattering wind, an earthquake, and then a fire. But God's presence was not in those phenomena.
The LORD came to Elijah in the form of a gentle whisper in which He reminded His discouraged prophet that He had reserved 7,000 - a symbolically important round number - for Himself. And he sent Elijah back into the fray to continue paving the way for His Kingdom.
So when you get discouraged about the state of the Church in the twenty-first century, remember the optimistic way our Confession describes how God continues to care for His Church the same way now:
And this holy church is preserved by God against the rage of the whole world, even though for a time it may appear very small in the eyes of men— as though it were snuffed out... Just as He did during the very dangerous time of Ahab.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who mightily commands the elements and also meets us with a gentle whisper;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you'll be reminded of God's providential care of His Church the next time you feel pessimistic;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 2 Corinthians 7
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