Elijah, one of the most powerful prophets mentioned in the Old Testament, slew in one day, four hundred and fifty of Jezebel’s (wife of Ahab who was the King of Israel at that time) false prophets after he publicly humiliated them through a contest of sacrifice, revealing to the nation that these people served a weak god called Baal.
Even though Elijah had the ability to call fire down from heaven, striking fear into the hearts of those in the armed forces, he had his own fear to wrestle with and that was death at the hand of a woman. Jezebel wanted his life in return for killing her prophets. It seems rather odd that Elijah would be so afraid that he went into hiding after such an act of courage, but really it is not.
God last spoke to Elijah about the false prophets, and on receiving Jezebel’s decree for his death he had not received any other instructions from the Lord. Therefore his first instinct was to flee for his life since he did not know what the end result would be. It simply dawned on him that he was alone, the only prophet of the true God still alive as Jezebel ordered that all the prophets of the Lord be killed sometime before, it was a great burden for him.
Given our weakness due to our sinful state we sometimes forget who our Father is, his promises to us and our ability to overcome. It is not easy to stand alone for what is right but at some point in time we will all have to do it, and we will have to face the outcome of that action. Do not doubt for a second whether God understands our fears because he does, and like Elijah he will find us wherever we are even in the deepest and darkest cave. He will bring us into the light of day again and he will bring us comfort. Wait on the Lord.
Reference:
1 Kings 18-19
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