‘How long will this limping continue?’ Elijah’s question for today

By Dean Collins

You might limp for any one of several different reasons. And it’s not just an age thing. We older folks probably do limp more than younger, but children sometimes limp, too. Young, strong athletes might develop a limp. People of any age can end up limping at some point. Poor cognition, strains, and sprains are the most common sources for a limp, caused by an accident, a sickness, and sometimes unattended physical pain.

Two gods

Elijah the prophet got me thinking about limping this morning. You know the story of Elijah on top of Mount Carmel. I won’t retell it here. The background to this story has to do with Ahab the king of Israel choosing to walk in the sins of those before him who had not only allowed but encouraged the worship of Baal. 1 Kings 16:33 says that Ahab did more to provoke the Lord than any of the kings before him.

Elijah called out the people for limping between two different opinions. They apparently were trying to do a both/and instead of an either/or in their lives. Elijah asked the people on the mountain, “How long will this limping continue?” The implication is that not making a choice between God and Baal will not allow one to walk confidently. It causes a problem with your gait.

We know this about indecision. After all the research and evaluation, you have to choose an employee, a path forward, a strategy, or a destination. Otherwise, you just limp along when you could be running to the goal. Elijah’s question, however, left the people speechless. They didn’t have an answer for how long. Their silence was a big indicator of their lostness.

Two prayers

And these were thirsty people. There had been a God-ordained drought. It was the third year in a row of no rain. Things were getting desperate, and Ahab was getting angry and ready to take his anger out on God’s prophet. Sometimes the messenger does take the heat.

Words had already been exchanged. Ahab called Elijah the troubler of Israel. Elijah shot back that Ahab and his father before him had abandoned God and chosen to put their hope in a worthless god called Baal. Elijah set the rules and Ahab consented. The proof of who could answer prayer was determined. Fire from Heaven would be the indication of who had the power and who could answer prayer and meet the need. The limping between needed to stop.

After the epic failure of the prayers offered to Baal, Elijah’s prayer was answered in dramatic fashion. And the people who just hours ago couldn’t answer Elijah’s question now found their voices. They fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”

Three choices

I also read the Sermon on the Mount this morning. It was a different mountain than the one in Elijah’s story, but there was another big crowd of people. This time there was no showdown. Jesus sat and began to teach the crowd about his Father and his Kingdom. He didn’t mention limping, though he had already proven a limp was only one of many diseases he could heal and problems he could solve.

But like Elijah, he did call for a choice. He said we can’t have two masters. We need to pick one. Baal wasn’t one of the two mentioned; Jesus updated the options for modern society. Seems that it’s a choice between putting our faith in God or with money.

He also said we had to choose between two gates. One is wide and leads to all kinds of easy options. The other is narrow. Few bother with the narrow gate, even though it’s the one that leads to life.

And Jesus ended his sermon with a choice of a foundation. The options are rock or sand. Seems pretty straightforward, especially if you pay attention to what happens during a hard rain.

One decision

When Jesus finished his mountain sermon, the people were astonished. He wove a lot of things to think about into that sermon. But he didn’t really call them to do a lot of thinking; he called them to action. Apparently, we must make the same decision that faced those standing on the mountain. We can go limping along, trying to do it ourselves or hoping some mystery god would show up and do it for us. We could do what lots of the people did before Jesus showed up: Just listen to all the scholars tell us what to do and hope we follow the rules effectively. Or we could do what Jesus asked; pick a master, walk through a gate, and establish our lives on a good foundation.

If we follow Jesus we will be astonished, and not just because Jesus was an amazing communicator. It will be because we have found him to be exactly who he claimed to be, a life-giver.

I’m tired of limping, aren’t you?

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭‭16:31-33‬; 18:21, 39‬; Matthew 5:1-2; 6:24; 7:13-14, 24-28 ‭ESV‬‬

Photo by Chris King on Unsplash

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