We’ve looked for someone for a long time (too long some may think!) and still nobody. It almost feels like we are alone in the world with our standard. A prophet in the Bible felt the same way; his story can encourage us all.
Elijah was a great prophet. He prayed for the fire of God to come down from heaven and it burned a completely soaked altar. After 400 prophets of Baal had not been able to get a single spark. After destroying those false prophets his life was threatened by Jezebel and he fled into the desert. There he was totally depressed and Elijah was ready to let himself die. First God fed him and gave him a place to rest and then asked him why he was in the desert complaining. “He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” (1 Kings 19:10 NIV) He had defended his faith and beliefs with zeal, but he felt he was the only one with those holy standards.
As Christians, we take God’s Word with zeal when we first get saved. We are all ready to apply God’s standards to all areas of our lives, including marital status. However, time passes and we begin to feel isolated in our standards. We see our colleagues at work go on adventures because they do not have the same standards. Our life may not be threatened like the one of Elijah, but we can be just as discouraged as he was.
Was Elijah really alone? In the previous chapter, Obadiah (the head of the house of King Ahab) had said to Elijah : “Haven’t you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord? I hid a hundred of the Lord’s prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water.” (1 Kings 19.18 NIV). Elijah was not alone. A hundred prophets of Lord were in a cave! Later, God told him : “Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19.18 NIV) There was another seven thousand who had kept their hearts pure, living in another city.
No, you’re not alone in your standards. You may not have found someone in your church, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Who knows, that special person may be in another city or hidden in a cave! Jokes aside, keep your chin up and do not decide to lower your standards in order to find someone. Just like Elijah get a good night’s rest, a good meal and a good time in the presence of God. You will hear His voice: “Take courage, stand firm on your standards, you’re on the right track and you are not alone. Keep walking, with those standards you will meet the right person.”