Even if you don't know much about the prophet Elijah, you most likely know the story of his big showdown with the prophets of the Baals on Mount Carmel. As you read the story in 1 Kings 18, you can almost imagine the big screen production with the likes of Spielberg directing, Horner or Williams adding the score, and top A-List actors playing this audacious and dramatic prophet. One lone prophet of God versus 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah.
The stage was set for the dramatic showdown, God vs Baal, Elijah vs everyone else. And, spoiler alert, God showed up, delivered what Elijah prayed for, and accomplished a stunning victory over the enemy that day. What’s more, Elijah rounded up the 850 enemy prophets and had them all slaughtered, as Queen Jezebel had done to so many of the prophets of God.
By all accounts, Elijah was the victorious hero for God that day. The miracle he prayed for, that God would consume the water-logged sacrifice, happened. The audience believed and exclaimed, “The Lord—he is God.” The enemy’s prophets were destroyed. Elijah stood toe to toe with the “Goliath” and won. And, as God had earlier promised, the storm clouds on the horizon would mark the end of the drought. It was a clear and decisive victory for the man Elijah.
If Fifteen& were to claim a patron saint, this Old Testament prophet would be a good one. Not because of what happens on Mount Carmel but because of what happens next.
The Victory Wasn’t Enough
The story does not end with a miraculous victory. Elijah’s euphoria is short-lived as the celebration gives way quickly to a flight for his life from the Queen. On the heels of his great and dramatic humiliation of the enemy, Elijah is now on the run.
Wait, what? He got the miracle he wanted. He was elevated to the top spot in the resistance battle. He won the showdown and humiliated the enemy in the process. And now he bolts, afraid for his life?
If you’re like me, you can sometimes forget as you read these classic stories that the players were real people. With real doubts and fears. With insecurities about who they were and what they were doing. A different time and place, to be sure. But not so different from you and me today.
The mission of Fifteen& is to develop a community of servant leaders committed to growing in both faith and leadership. Whether Elijah understood it this way or not, he was involved in a similar mission. And, like all leaders at some point, he had a moment. A moment where he got what he was after—the victory, the achievement, the glory, the accomplishment of the goal. And in that moment he realized it didn’t satisfy. It didn’t feel like he thought it would. It wasn’t enough. And so, with a price on his head and doubts in his heart, he chose to hide.
A Story About Leadership
This is a leadership tale. To be sure, it is not only that. But to read this story and not see the leadership application here is to miss a large point of the story. Like so many leaders with a similar story—feeling their lowest at the height of success—the sacrifice Elijah was willing to make for the cause began to feel like dread. The calm in which he confronted the evil King Ahab turned to anger for how he was being treated. And the feeling of care and concern for his fellow people gave way to bitterness and a belief that he was alone.
We don’t know, of course, everything Elijah was thinking after this letdown from Mount Carmel, but we do have some clues in his subsequent prayer to God.
“I have had enough Lord.”
“Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
“I have been very zealous … but the Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death.”
“I am the only one left and now they are trying to kill me too.”
These don’t sound like the words of someone fresh off a monumental mountaintop experience. Yet they were. They also don’t sound dissimilar to words you or I might say today. Maybe with less about swords and killing, but similar nonetheless. Our version sounds more like this.
“I’m done. I’m not going to do this anymore.”
“Someone else can deal with it. Apparently, I’m not a success after all.”
“I’ve done everything I could, again and again. But they still don’t get it. They don’t see the potential the way I do and they don’t want to change.”
“I feel like I’m the only one, the only one who cares, and somehow I’m now the bad guy.”
Into the Wilderness…
The desire for victory and success is strong in leaders who are going after their dreams and living on a mission. When achieved, the successes are milestone moments to be celebrated and remembered for sure. Still, in the best stories of heroism and greatness, the periods before and after the victory are the most formational to the hero character. For Elijah, it’s what happens after that we look to next.
It’s no coincidence that the lowest point for Elijah, the place where he pours out this honest admission to God, is the wilderness. It’s in the wilderness where growth always happens. The wilderness was a crucial season for Elijah. And the season had some profound moments of insight for him and application for us.
That is what we’ll explore in part 2.
To be continued …