Just An Ordinary Man
by Sam Ang
Some of us have our Bible superheroes and for many, the Prophet Elijah would be listed as one of them. But the way he is described in James 5:17 - "Elijah was a man just like us" - seems to suggest that James had not acknowledged him for the awesome work he did.
Surely there must be something special in him that 'qualified' him for the miracles and earth-shaking feats. Was it a courageous streak? A fearless nerve? An intrepid attitude? Perhaps.
But I believe that 'special something' was simply his willingness to do God's bidding.
There's a song that goes like this:
Just ordinary people
God chooses ordinary people
He chooses people just like you and me
Who'll do as He commands
God chooses people that will give Him all
No matter how small your all may seem to you
Because little becomes much when you place it in your Master's hand.
Reading the account in 1 Kings 18, we will notice that God raised an ordinary man in extraordinary times. In one of the darkest periods of Israel's history, God intervened to show Himself as Lord of lords and God of gods through a man "just like us".
The life of Elijah can help us to lead with creativity and conviction in times of crisis. And we do dwell in dark times when we are assaulted on almost every front - economically, socially and politically.
A time to mourn
God sent Elijah to the widow of Zarephath where he would be supported by her during the next two years even though she was poor. During his stay, there was a crisis when the widow's son became so ill that he died.
She said to Elijah, "What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?" Those words must have confounded Elijah for he immediately took the boy and cried out to the Lord, "O Lord my God have you brought tragedy upon this widow I am staying with, causing her son to die?"
As we struggle with pain over our family, community and nation, expressing our sorrow will help to release the pressure inside us and help us to become more useful to others. This was what happened to Elijah, for God heard his cry and the boy's life returned to him and he lived.
As our nation faces difficult times like these, we Christians need to be on our knees, crying out to God for His divine intervention. Many of the events that have happened, and will happen, are beyond our control.
But in the midst of the many distressing events, we see God raising Christians in the public square to stand up for the truth.
Like Elijah cried out to God on behalf of the widow, let us cry out to God on behalf of our nation. And when God hears our cries, others will echo the Zarephath widow who said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth." 1Kings 17:24.
A time to work
For Christians, every disaster is a call to action. That was what happened to Israel and God was using the prophet Elijah to turn the nation back to Him.
On behalf of the God of Israel, Elijah confronted the people for their double-mindedness with a direct question: "How long will you falter between two opinions?" Then he challenged them that they had to choose: "If the Lord is God follow Him, but if Baal follow him."
As the story goes, God displayed His power when fire fell from heaven and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. The people fell on their faces at the sight of God's power and acknowledged that Jehovah alone is the God of Israel.
Elijah knew that the odds were against him, yet it was time to work and turn the nation back to God. The truth was not to be settled by a majority vote but by God's Word. He was sincere and passionate in his commitment to undertake such an enormous task. What he witnessed was that God uniquely equipped him to have a huge impact upon the suffering people.
A time to pray
Few emotions can so quickly expose the frailty of men as fear. After a mountain-top power encounter, Elijah was struck with deathly fear when he heard these words from Jezebel, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like one of them." Truly, "Elijah was a man just like us." Deeply traumatised, he needed to be ministered to, just like any normal man.
It is interesting to note that immediately after James recorded that "Elijah was a man just like us", he added, "and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and it did not for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops ." James 5:17-18
The most powerful work any Christian can do is to pray. However busy we are, individual and corporate prayer should be an important aspect of our relief operations.
Conclusion
Elijah was far from perfect. He faced the same struggles that stare us in our face. But if God could use a "man just like us" to do His awesome work, He can also use you and me. The challenge is not to pursue the great things that Elijah did but to simply avail ourselves to a great God whose desire is to work in and through us. |
