Reading Time: 4 minutesThe nation Elijah lived in was ruled by corrupt leaders, and it had abandoned the worship of God. Sound familiar? Elijah alone was willing to risk his life to see his countrymen turn back to God. Yet just after his greatest triumph, when it seemed that success was finally at hand, we find Elijah calling himself a failure and asking God to end his life.
How did he get to this point? Is there something we need to learn from Elijah to persevere in God’s work today?
Discouraged prophet
Recall Elijah’s boldness to appear before King Ahab, despite having a bounty on his head, and his faith to initiate a showdown with the priests of Baal. Elijah’s passion and heart motivation are revealed, however, in his simple prayer: “Answer me, Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that You, Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back” (1 Kings 18:37).
Not only did fire from heaven consume Elijah’s sacrifice in response, it consumed the very stones on which it was laid (v. 38)!
Now Elijah’s mission would surely be fulfilled. And for a moment it seemed as if revival — a return to wholehearted devotion to Yahweh — would prevail in Israel. But just a couple of days later, we find Elijah hiding in the wilderness, sitting under a broom tree, and assessing the situation with these words: “Enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers” (19:4).
Our times are similar to Elijah’s. There is no shortage of articles, podcasts, and messages decrying the corruption of our national leadership and moral decay of society. Often accompanying those observations are calls to rise up in outrage to oppose the prevalence of evil. There is an increasing frustration with what is perceived as declining Christian influence in our nation, both politically and morally.
Don’t complain to Elijah, though.
Elijah expected regime change after what happened on Mount Carmel. The king was a personal witness to the power of God, and the people had taken up swords to kill the priests of Baal. But the very next day, Queen Jezebel, the true power behind the king, gave this edict: “So may the gods do to me and more so, if by about this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the life of one of them” (v. 2).
There was no uprising to defend God’s prophet or to purge the opposition to the living God from the throne of Israel. Nothing had changed. So bold Elijah fled for his life in profound despair. When God asked why he was in such a state of depression, Elijah answered:
“I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of armies; for the sons of Israel have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they have sought to take my life” (v. 10).
Elijah inferred from these events that his ministry was a failure, his efforts fruitless, his life’s calling pointless, and he asked to be put out of his misery. But what was God’s response?
“Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and powerful wind was tearing out the mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind there was 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 sound of a gentle blowing (vv. 11, 12).
God granted Elijah time to lick his wounds, to rest and recover from his deep disappointment. God then gave him a gracious gift — the revelation of His most effective method of influence: gentle patience. Then He sent Elijah back into the fray, to continue serving Him as His prophet.
Lessons from Elijah
We are not in Elijah’s shoes — yet. But we can learn things from him if we are to persevere in accomplishing God’s will in a hostile culture.
- Define success by obedience, not results.
- Appreciate the wisdom of God’s gentleness over man’s anger.
- Praise God for His patience.
Even though Elijah was willing to call his life a failure and die, God was not finished trying to reach wicked Israel. In fact, God doubled down and performed twice as many signs and wonders through Elijah’s designated successor, Elisha. But the signs and wonders, even fire from heaven, didn’t bring lasting revival. Expressions of power alone don’t change hearts.
We have another simple lesson to learn from Elijah: Trust and obey. If we are to persevere even when we seem to stand alone, even when we cannot see the possibility of making a difference, we must define success by being faithful. Let God produce the results in His time and His way.
Peter shared a similar message with the early Christians living under wicked rulers in a hostile culture. He told them to appreciate God’s gentle patience, remembering that the gentle move of God’s Spirit first wooed us to Him: “and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you” (2 Peter 3:15).
As much passion as Elijah had for seeing his nation and people turn to God, he could not match God’s compassion for His people. God granted him a refresher, gave him a re-orientation in methodology, and recommissioned him to pick up his mantle and resume the work.
We, too, are called to pick up our cross and follow our Savior, to obediently, compassionately call a rebellious generation back to God with gentle patience. Let His example be our definition of success.
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