#DailyDevotion God Is More Patient With Us Than We Are With Others
September 3
1 Kng 19:1–21
1Ki 19:14 He said, “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”…18 “Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
God is so much more patient with us than we are of other people. We’re reading this after the last couple of chapters and we are thinking, “Come on Elijah! The Lord answered with fire from the sky not that long ago. The Israelites gathered killed the prophets of Baal. And now you are afraid of a mere mortal who wants to kill you? Have you not been paying attention yourself to the Lord your God?” Well that’s what I am thinking as I read this.
But the Lord is patient and feeds Elijah on his escape from Israel and strengthens him with an angel. The Lord finally comes to Elijah and very fatherly asked him what he is doing here. Elijah spouts off this rather pitiful excuse (like we would no doubt). Then the Lord sends clouds, a fire, an earthquake! But he is not in those things. In the quietness of the place he speaks gently to Elijah and calls him out and ask him again and again he gives the same answer. He is all by himself.
Well the Lord will have none of that. He sets a plan in motion to remove the wicked kings through the anointing of new kings (who won’t fair much better over time) and then he assures Elijah that he is not alone. He gets a helper, Elisha and the assurance there are at least seven thousand in Israel who are faithful to the Lord God of Israel.
The Lord may not speak audibly to us as he did to Elijah but he has given us these words, Mat 16:18 “…on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” And he has promised us, Mat 28:20 “…And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The world around us may seem like it is going mad. The Church may seem as if her influence is gone and she is shrinking to nothing and we worry what will happen to us. But we have these words from Jesus to encourage us to have faith and to trust in God and to trust in him. We need not fear the world and what it may do to us. God, Jesus, is for us. Who can be against us. We may always face the world with good courage knowing our Lord is with all the time, no matter what, just as he was with Elijah. He is also patient with us like Elijah so we need not fear going to him and telling him we are afraid. His word will build us up again to face this world of darkness until we see the world of light prepared for us.
Heavenly Father, help us always to remember we need not fear for you are with us always even to the end of the age. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.