I Kings 19:18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
Perspective and Potential
Loneliness is a horrible feeling, and it’s a feeling that God’s prophet, Elijah, knew well. You know, someone could be surrounded by thousands of people and still be lonely. People are not primarily lonely because no one is around; people are lonely when no one around cares. That is exactly where Elijah was. He loved God and felt like he was the only one in the world who did.
In chapter 19, we read that Elijah was hiding in a cave because he was lonely. Elijah told God, “I only, am left.” God’s response to his loneliness is found in the next verse, and I would say that if you don’t like the odds, work on the numbers. How? There are two ways: perspective and potential.
Verse 18 gives us some perspective. God says to Elijah, “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal.” You may have more friends than you think, but that is a perspective, sometimes, that only God has. God can see the big picture that you cannot see. But, even if you don’t have a friend in the world, you and God make a majority.
You also may have more power than you realize. In verses 15 and 16, God told Elijah to go anoint two kings, one in Israel and one is Syria, and then his own successor as prophet. How amazing that God commissioned Elijah to anoint a king in Syria! It shows that God was in control. God rules no matter who is elected or forces his way to power. Again, if you don’t like the odds, work on the numbers. One of the ways you can do that is perspective, and that is what God was urging Elijah to do, to have a heavenly perspective.
Second of all we have the matter of potential. In verse 16, God tells Elijah to go anoint a young man to be a prophet in Elijah’s place. Verse 19 says, “So he departed thence, and found Elisha.” Elijah began to work on the numbers. He began to multiply himself by investing in somebody else, Elisha. Long after Elijah was gone, Elisha was making a difference in his world, and it was a difference that was made in him by Elijah. Elijah influenced Elisha; Elisha influenced thousands.
If we would just keep the people we have and rear our children to love God, we’d be doing better than we are right now. We also need to win new people. We can work on the numbers. I don’t know what your perspective or potential is today, but God has the right perspective, God knows potential, and God will help you. You are not alone.