The situation was pretty bleak by outward appearances. The drought in the land had been going on over three years. Israel’s King Ahab decided to check out the surrounding countryside to see if he could find some grass. This was the moment for a “divine appointment.” God sent the prophet Elijah to confront one of the most wicked kings Israel ever had.

Elijah challenged all the false prophets of Israel to a spiritual showdown — 450 representing Baal and another 400 representing Asherah (a Canaanite fertility goddess). The meeting was on Mt. Carmel, and it was like Super Bowl Sunday! The entire population (church) showed up. The crowd was fired up! (Pun intended.)

Elijah called out the people for their apathy toward the things of God. “How long will you hesitate [waffle] between two opinions [doctrines]? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” (I Kings 18:22) Here’s what the people said: NOTHING! They were mum, silent, quiet, hushed. The people of Israel had resigned any hope of a spiritual renewal. The “church” was silent.

Here are my thoughts on this. They knew Elijah was a true prophet of the God of Israel. But there were 850 of the other guys. Also, Queen Jezebel was pretty serious about this Baal stuff, and they didn’t want to “offend anyone.” Sound familiar?

Anyway, the showdown began, and Elijah let them have the first shot at seeing which god could rain down fire on the sacrifice. The false prophets were nothing if not enthusiastic, yelling, screaming, and jumping around. After several hours of nothing, Elijah taunted them. Maybe your god’s asleep or in the bathroom? They went into a frenzy, screaming and even cutting themselves, but nothing happened. I believe these guys really expected something to happen. After all, they had seen the “dark side” of the force (Baal).

When evening came, they were exhausted. Now it was Elijah’s turn. He got the sacrifice ready and then — in the midst of a prolonged drought — had them dump 12 barrels of water over it. He stepped back and called out to Heaven; the fire of God fell, consuming everything, including the altar of stone. That’s when the people of God fell on their faces and cried out, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God” (vs. 39). Elijah then put all the false prophets to death.

Over the past several decades, America has lost its passion for our God. We have remained silent as the enemy has perverted our culture and demonized anyone who won’t worship at the altar of multiculturalism. We didn’t want to get canceled, silenced, doxed, or ridiculed, so we said nothing. On September 11, 2001, America did see the fire fall from heaven as the Twin Towers in New York City collapsed to the ground.

This was a wake-up call to the church, and for several months, churches were full, even in New York City. People were afraid of what would happen next. But months went by and nothing happened. Yes, we went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but most of the nation hit the snooze button. The church went back to sleep.

Think of all the things that have happened since 9/11: Barack Obama and Joe Biden; gay marriage; the trans movement; the COVID pandemic. Once again, the church lost its voice and caved to the false gods of progressivism. Our failure to act has only emboldened progressives to be more vocal, angry, and destructive.

While we have a new administration with President Donald Trump at the wheel, he is not America’s savior. God can and will use him, but it’s time for We the People and We the Church to stand up to the voice of the mob. Remember: “With God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

Something to pray about!
Semper Fidelis