Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel – all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”  — 1 Kings 19:18

Without a doubt, one of the most exciting stories to read in the Bible is 1 Kings 18 when Elijah calls down fire from heaven on the prophets of Baal.  I could only imagine being there on that day and seeing the fire come down from heaven.  I really hope that somehow in heaven we can go to a library of sorts where we can insert ourselves into the Bible stories and see it all exactly as it unfolded.  

I have two parts to my salvation.  When I got saved at 16, I pretty much stayed on life support for around 5 years.  But when I got filled with the spirit around 21, I was never the same.  I wanted to be great in God’s kingdom.  He made a way for me to preach to a lot of people in a lot of different places.  As I ascended the preaching ladder fairly quickly, one day, I was smacked off it.  I so related to Elijah in the cave on Mount Sinai complaining to the Lord.  He had given everything, was at maximum disappointment, and wanted it all to end.  God simply gave Elijah a new assignment and he ended up just fine, but I caught something in that story that has changed my life.  

When reading 1 Kings 19, I got the feeling that Elijah honestly felt like he was the only one out there doing anything for the kingdom, “I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me,” (v14) he tells God twice.  God let Elijah know that He was not low on numbers, “yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him.” (v18) More often than not, our perceptions are not reality.  

I also love reading how James and John asked Jesus if they wanted them to call down fire from heaven on the people who were inhospitable to Jesus (see Luke 9:54).  Undoubtedly, they were referencing 1 Kings 18.  I doubt they thought about Elijah’s despair immediately afterwards.  They simply wanted to do something great and powerful.  Later, they would try to get Jesus to grant them the best seats in God’s kingdom (see Mark 10).  Jesus quickly let them know that their request was full of ignorance.  They simply didn’t know what they were asking for. 

I sit here this morning thinking about all the mistakes I’ve made in ministry.  In many ways, I’m still very much ignorant and more than naïve.  I spent too many of my years trying to be Elijah, James, and John.  I never wanted to burn anyone up, but I sure wanted the presence of God to manifest everywhere I preached in the most powerful of ways.  In many ways, I got what I wanted, but I found out the hard way . . . not everyone desires that.  In my own disappointment, I allowed my own flame to burn down to embers.  

This morning, I simply want to be one of those seven thousand that God is preserving.  We never learn any of their names, but we know they were faithful, and they never bowed the knee to anyone besides the Lord God. 

In a world where most schoolteachers are trashed by society, I can be faithful.  

In a world where many CDL drivers cut corners, disregard rules and regulations, and have horrible outspoken attitudes towards authority, I can be faithful.  

In a world where most musicians want to climb the ladder of more money and more success, I can be faithful. 

In a world where many husbands and wives seek pleasure outside of their marriages, I can be faithful. 

In a world where too many preachers seek bigger ministries and bigger bank accounts, I can be faithful. 

In a world that is ever changing, at least for the fifty years I’ve lived on it . . . Lord, help me be faithful.  Fan my embers back into flame.  Amen.