In our passage today, we heard about Elijah and his confrontation with the prophets of Baal. Now Elijah was a prophet who came from Tishbe [map] and he prophesised in the northern Kingdom of Israel during the reigns of Ahab and Ahaziah – 2 of the many Kings who did evil in the sight of the Lord. As 1 Kings 16:30-33 tells us of Ahab:

‘Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him, He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.

So, into this situation, Elijah prophesises to Ahab (in 1 Kings 17) that because of the evil he is perpetuating in Israel, there will be a drought throughout the land, and there is! 3 years later, Elijah appears before Ahab to show Him and all Israel once and for all who the real God is, by means of a sacrifice challenge – to be decided by fire, a challenge that is readily accepted by the prophets of Baal!

Now two details not mentioned in the passage are: one, the fact that Baal was considered to be the weather-god. And two, the site for the challenge is thought to have been one of the traditional sites of Baal worship, so Elijah was attempting to give the prophets as much of a ‘home advantage’ as possible. As we know from our reading, Elijah let the prophets of Baal sacrifice first and they end up spending all day shouting, dancing, and slashing themselves to try and get Baal to send fire to consume their sacrifice, after all, if Baal is the weather-god, this should be an easy task for him to do, yet there is no response.

So Elijah has his turn, and, together with drenching the sacrifice completely with water, he prays to the LORD that all watching would see and know that the LORD is the only God. Poof!! His sacrifice, including the stones and soil are all consumed!
Cartoon: Elijah and BBQ?

Why have I used this account? Because it illustrates the point that despite the unsavoury circumstances Elijah was in, despite him being one of only a few Yahweh worshippers, Elijah trusted in God to deliver – he trusted God to show himself in such a dynamic way to the people so that there could be no argument as to who was the true God of Israel.

Now, although Elijah is looked upon now as a mighty man of God, he wasn’t superhuman – he was subject to fear; he had his failings, he suffered from depression, and life was incredibly difficult at times, yet he continued to trust God, and when he did fail, God picked him up and helped him to get back on his feet. If we had time, we could take the Bible and the whole of Church History, and find example after example of people just like Elijah who have had their failings but who have sought to trust in God. The important thing to remember is that placing our trust in God doesn’t suddenly make us immune from pain and difficult circumstances – in fact, life often becomes more difficult than previously, but when we trust in God, we know that we are trusting the King of the Universe and there is no better place to put our trust. He will not let us down ever because he is faithful.

Having said all this, it is possible sometimes to feel that examples like Elijah are so far removed from our lives today, that we don’t feel a sense of connection with them. Whether you do or don’t, listen now to some excerpts from the life of Ivan (or Vanya as he is often referred to), a Moldavian Christian in the Soviet Army who commenced his Military Service in 1971.

Late for drill one morning having ‘been praying’ he was summoned to appear before his superiors. After being told to throw off his subversive ideas about God, Ivan responded: ‘I am happy as a Soviet citizen to serve in the army and to help build socialism in any way I can. But there is another place of which I am a citizen, and that is the Kingdom of God. It is a Kingdom that can never be a threat to the Soviet state because this Kingdom is within the hearts of believers, and the laws of this place are the laws of love. I cannot renounce my citizenship in this Kingdom or my loyalty to the King, who is God. He is building His Kingdom everywhere, even in the Soviet Union, a Kingdom of forgiveness and love.’ Thus began a testing time for Ivan as the Army tried to break His faith in God in every conceivable way.

He was put in a detention cell and denied food or drink for 5 consecutive days. When questioned at the end, Ivan responded ‘It wasn’t as if I was especially conscious of being hungry, but I was very tired and certainly cold. As I prayed, God suddenly touched me in a wonderful way. I was warmed and felt as full as if I had eaten a large and delicious dinner. Soon afterwards I fell asleep.’

He was ordered to stand outside all night in summer uniform when the temperature was 25 degrees below zero…for 12 consecutive nights in a row, yet he did not feel the cold a single night, whilst the guards present were astonished. Throughout these nights, he took the opportunity to pray for every single officer and fellow soldiers he knew. And out of this came wonderful witnessing opportunities amongst his unit, in response to men asking ‘Tell me about this God.’ But this also continued to cause great disturbances.

These events resulted in a relentless regime of questioning by the hour, throughout the day and night. He was deprived of sleep and meals, yet he somehow sustained himself – that was the mystery of it – we know it was God in whom he has placed his trust.

Thrown into prison and into a cold damp cell measuring 4ft by 4ft, he was exposed to the most thorough of interrogations and re-education techniques that they knew for 12 days, and still he continued to trust God. Not only did God sustain him but he also used him to witness to his comrades.

When returned to his unit, and in the discussion that followed about God, his comrades decided to set up a challenge to verify the existence of Ivan’s God. Ivan’s sergeant said ‘If your God can do anything, let Him get me leave tomorrow to go home. Then I’ll believe in Him!’, remembering leaves during their training were extremely rare.

To quote from the book Ivan said, Lord! Can this be from You? Will You be tempted by men? What they ask, is this right, Lord? Come on Ivan! Let’s prove your living God! The sergeant shifted uneasily in his chair. Somehow the challenge was being taken too seriously. Suddenly Ivan thought of the OT contest between the prophets of Baal and Elijah. With a new inward quietness he asked again for direction. Unmistakably the words came into his consciousness: Tell them I will do this. Every eye in the room stared as Ivan answered. His voice had an assurance that astonished the men. Turning to the sergeant he spoke clearly enough for every person to easily hear his reply. Tomorrow the Lord says you will go home on leave…And he did!! And there are other events that happened that witnessed to all, of Ivan’s trust in a living God.

Yet his trust in God would take him further than most of us would ever expect to face in our lives, because when the army saw they could not silence him (for his witnessing was having an impact on many solders), or break him in any way, they handed him over to the KGB who violently tortured him, and when he still refused to renounce his trust in God, they killed him.

Two Men who trusted God completely – two very different experiences separated by nearly 3000 years, yet what they had in common was that both of them held firm to their faith in God. Yes, they struggled at times but they trusted God to give them the strength to endure and remain faithful.

Today, in the 21st century, it is no different. The God of Elijah and Vanya is also the God of you and me, and we too like them, are called to trust God unconditionally, without reservation. So what does this mean in practice?

1. We need to trust God with the big things in life – i.e. where we live and what we do.
2. We need to trust God with our relationships & our families.
3. We need to trust God with the resources he has given each of us and ask Him how we should use them in His service.
4. We need to trust God throughout all seasons of life – when things are going well for us, AND when we are faced with or living in situations that, frankly, are difficult and, we know we can’t change them.
5. We need to trust God when we are able to make changes in our lives

We might not have to confront situations like Elijah did, and we may not have to lay down our lives, BUT what God does ask of each of us is to trust him without reservation wherever that takes us, knowing that He will meet our needs in every circumstance. Remember that our trust in God is never misplaced. It is sure, steadfast, and He is Faithful!