photo #7835553

"HOW LONG HALT YE?" "And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, HOW LONG HALT YE between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word." (1 Kings 18:21) (caps mine)This chapter inspires a renewed faith in the God of miracles and judgments, demonstrating His absolute power and faithfulness to His people. In the face of apostasy and false worship, God's power remains unchallenged. This reminds us of the need for faithfulness and obedience, and the ultimate reward of placing our trust in God alone.We learn that Elijah had summoned that wicked king Ahab to meet him on Mt. Carmel with 450 prophets of Baal along with the 400 prophets of the groves. That latter bunch were the same guys who ate at the table of that nasty ole fault finding, mean-mouthed, lust loving Jezebel. Meanwhile, the people of Israel, along with the big shots as well as some little shots, were gathering to watch this showdown.In this account, God was wooing Israel back to Himself with a challenge to believe He was and still is able. He showed the nothingness and nonsense of the false prophet's gods that day, just as He had done many times before when He brought them out of Egypt. Even though those false prophets and their fake god couldn't pass the test on Mt. Carmel that day, the people still couldn't come to grips in believing the true God Who had already performed many miracles throughout their history. But at days end, they will believe!After all was said and done, we see a revival of sorts in verse 39 of this same chapter, "And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God."How many times does God have to miraculously open His Hand and show us that He alone is God? People today will look at the stories of science and take its lessons of the past and make them the instructions for their life. Why not learn from the history lessons of the Scriptures and the many ways that God has proven Himself to be the Almighty One?As the curtain of 2024 begins to close and the window of 2025 is about to open, each of us will face those same old trials and circumstances of life we have before. Haven't we seen God's faithfulness time and time again in the past delivering us from various situations? Of course we have! He delivered us yesterday, He will deliver us today, and He will deliver us tomorrow!Are we going to continue stumbling here and there in doubt and disbelief like many did at Mt. Carmel? Well, here's something much better. Let's remember all those many years of experiencing what God has done when He reached down with His mighty hand of grace and mercy showing His loving kindness to us. Then we too will fall on our faces and cry out, "The LORD, he is the God, the LORD, he is the God."Friends, that same question which Elijah posed to Israel that day is asked of us this very hour. If that habit of halting or the way of wavering about the ability of God is found in us, then here comes that thought-provoking question for our consideration, "How long halt ye between two opinions?"