How Long Will You Falter Between Two Opinions?

How Long Will You Falter Between Two Opinions?

—1 Kings 18:21

An amazing aspect of God’s love for us is the fact that He gives us choices. We are not His puppets. God is not some master puppeteer pulling our strings so that we play out our lives on stage exactly as He wants. You are God’s cherished creation, not a puppet. He loves you so much that He allows you to make choices in life. While most of these choices are small, some are so significant they have the potential to be life altering.

One of my favorite spots in the land of Israel is the Carmel mountain range. Standing on its summit you see the beautiful blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Looking east you see a spectacular panorama stretching from the Galilean mountains to the village of Nazareth and on down to the valley of Armageddon. It was on a crystal clear morning, without a cloud in the sky, that Elijah stood on this very high place and called for Israel to make a choice. Israel was ruled by King Ahab who “did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him” (1 Kings 16:33). Ahab was not God’s puppet; Ahab’s strings were pulled by his wicked wife, Jezebel. He had abandoned the worship of the true God in favor of the false god Baal.

Elijah called for a confrontation between God and Baal on Mount Carmel, and this turned out to be the original Super Bowl! Ahab brought 850 false prophets and gathered the people of Israel. Elijah, standing alone but confident before this multitude, knew that one faithful person plus God is always a majority. So Elijah challenged the people to make a choice: “How long will you falter between two opinions?” (1 Kings 18:21). The followers of Baal decided that both sides would build an altar, they would both offer sacrifices to their respective gods, and the God who answered by fire would be recognized as the true God.

You may know the story. Baal was tested first. The false prophets of Baal whooped and wailed for hours . . . and nothing happened. Then Elijah repaired the broken altar, prayed, and “the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice” (v. 38). When the people saw the fire from heaven, they began to loudly profess, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!” (v. 39). Thus is recorded one of the great victories of the Bible.

The pages of Scripture are replete with challenge after challenge to make right choices in life. Moses said, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19, emphasis added). Among Joshua’s last words to his people were these: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . . But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). Luke recorded this statement Jesus made about an important choice: “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other” (Luke 16:13). And, in the last book of the Bible, our Lord rebuked those who were lukewarm, “neither cold nor hot” (Revelation 3:15).

As Elijah’s question confronts us across the centuries, it reminds us that our lives are not so much determined for us as they are by us as we make wise or unwise decisions. “How long will you falter between two opinions?” Elijah asked (1 Kings 18:21). Indecision is deadly, so learn from Elijah four important points about making wise decisions.

WISE DECISIONS EMERGE FROM OUR CONSCIENCE

The people of Israel were faltering, wavering, tottering between two choices in life. They were on the fence. They couldn’t decide whether to follow Baal or to wholeheartedly serve the God of Israel. They needed to make a choice.

So Elijah appealed to their conscience first of all. These people, like so many of us, knew better than to follow after false gods. They had such a rich history of seeing God at work on their behalf. Time after time He had delivered them from catastrophes and destruction even though they were so unworthy. Now the line was being drawn. The fence straddling could not continue. Elijah appealed to their conscience so they might realize God’s faithfulness to them and act based on that fact.

WISE DECISIONS EMBRACE REASON

Elijah appealed to human reason, to good old common sense. After all, Baal was the fire god. If anyone could answer by fire, it would be him. But the hours passed . . . and Baal was nowhere to be found, and no fire fell on his altar.

When we find ourselves at a decision point and have “faltered” for too long without deciding, it’s important not to let our self-justification for obtaining our agenda overrule our common-sense thinking—sensible logic and reason. The Holy Spirit will guide and sway our common sense if we will truly listen.

WISE DECISIONS EMPLOY GOD’S WORD

When decision time came, Elijah reminded God that he had “done all these things at Your word” (1 Kings 18:36). It was the Word of God that pointed the direction for him, so Elijah faced his foe with the right message: he began with a reminder of the covenant relationship with the living God and the Jewish people when he referred to the “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel” (v. 36). Elijah also had the right motive: “Let it be known this day that You are God in Israel” (v. 36). The prophet’s sole motive in defeating Baal was God’s glory. And Elijah had the right manner in the way he went about it: “Let it be known . . . that I am Your servant” (v. 36). Elijah veered away from any personal applause that might have come his way.

When we consult God’s Word, we learn that He will give us supernatural wisdom if we will only ask (James 1:5–8). We also learn that there is safety and wisdom in seeking counsel from godly, trusted friends, for the Bible says, “In the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14).

We make wise decisions in our lives when we employ God’s Word in the decision-making process. He will never lead us to do anything contrary to His Word.

WISE DECISIONS EMBODY THE HEART

When the people watched Elijah rebuild the broken altar, their hearts were moved. The pieces of the altar were silent witnesses to the broken fellowship between a people and their God. When Elijah took those twelve stones and carefully made the altar, they were reminiscent of the twelve stones their forefathers had left at Gilgal to forever remind them of how God had parted the waters for them in days gone by.

Once you recognize the importance of your conscience—of exercising solid reason in decision making—and once you have employed God’s Word, then follow your heart.

So God asked, “How long will you falter between two opinions?” Poet Robert Frost wrote “The Road Not Taken” about making such a decision:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other. . . .

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Q & A: “How long will you falter between two opinions?” Are you reading these words, realizing you are on the fence and you just can’t bring yourself to make a decision? Choose God! He will not fail you or forsake you—He loves you and has a plan for your life. Decide to follow Him. And remember, not to decide . . . really is to decide!