[236 words]
The prophet Elijah is at the low point. His victory at Mount Carmel turned into his being on the run for his life. He is despondent, depressed, and ready to give up. When God asks him what he is doing, his response is telling. “I tried,” he exclaims, “but no one is listening, they all are after me, I am alone.”
There is nothing worse than being alone and sad.
Yet Elijah wasn’t. God would proclaim to him, “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.” He points him to Elisha, the man that would walk beside him for the rest of his journey. He tells him how he has others in place that will right the wrongs that have been done. As dire as his situation seems, God assures him he is not alone.
If a great man like Elijah can struggle when he feels alone and abandoned, do we not think it can happen to us and those around us as well? There will be sad times in our lives, but that does not mean we have to face them alone. And we don’t have to let others face them alone!
God is never far away, and his people should not be either. Some are struggling right now, let’s make sure they don’t have to do it alone.
Barry Haynes
Hope church of Christ
Hope, AR