Lessons From Elijah (or Why I Love Zebras)

1 Kings 18:22 (NASB95)

Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.

Good morning Zebras,

I love the story of Elijah, especially as God first calls him into ministry that’s recorded in 1 Kings 17-19. There are so many truths imbedded in this part of scripture and if you haven’t read it recently you might want to stop and do that now.

For example, God does not always speak in the big things.  You all know that part of the  story. Elijah was up the mountain and God came to encourage him, but He didn’t come in the wind or the earthquake or the fire, He came in a gentle whisper.

And that’s a lesson I think we all need to remember.  In a culture where everything is BIG and loud, it’s so important to set aside time to hear God speak in His quiet voice, just to you.

Second, Elijah is a great Biblical example of being forced to wait.  After calling the drought down on Israel, God put Elijah by the stream and when the stream dried up, He sent Him to live with a widow.  “After a long time, in the third year” the word of the Lord finally came to Elijah telling him what to do next.

Again in our fast paced, get-it-done-now culture, waiting on the Lord is a forgotten concept.  We wait a little while, a week or two, maybe even a month, but rarely do we have the self-control to wait three years, doing nothing but praying.


Third, the glory for what Elijah did went to God. Notice the people’s reply after Elijah called fire down from heaven.  They didn’t say: “Wow, Elijah is a great speaker!”  Instead the people fell prostrate before Elijah and cried “The Lord-He is God!”

Too often, these days, it seems to me, the glory for ministry goes to the person speaking or doing, rather than to God who enables them to speak or do.

And finally, even if it feels like it, you are never alone. God always saves a remnant for Himself.


God reminded Elijah of that when he came out of hiding on his way to find King Ahab.  The first person God had him run into was Obadiah, who told him, “I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth.”  Then went on to explain how he had hid a hundred of God’s prophets in caves so that Jezebel wouldn’t kill them.  

But Elijah didn’t listen; Elijah didn’t really hear what Obadiah said, because ten verses later, right before the great stand-off with the prophets of Baal, he is quoted as saying:   “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left.”  And that error, (the misconception that he was all alone, the last person standing for the Lord), was a contributing factor to Elijah running in fear for his life and ending up hiding in a cave.

That’s why I love Zebras.  It reminds me I’m never alone, and even if I don’t know all of you, I trust that you are zealous for the Lord, or you wouldn’t be here.  And some days, knowing that, is all that keeps me from fleeing to a cave.

Love,

Jill