Day 5: Yet I reserve
"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).
Creator God, You spread out the earth with all that springs from it, You give breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it. You have declared, “I am the Lord; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols" (Isaiah 42:5, 8).
Through the vision of the apostle John, You rolled back the curtain of time and space, and gave us a glimpse of heavenly worship—the worship of the victorious—singing the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:
“Who will not fear You, Lord, and bring glory to Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You...” (Revelation 15:4).
Father, You have emphatically stated: By Myself I have sworn, My mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before Me every knee will bow; by Me every tongue will swear (Isaiah 45:23 - see also Philippians 2:10-11). Yet many do not fear You and glorify Your Name—many scoff at God and scorn the time of Your favor (2 Corinthians 6:2).
And sometimes like Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-18), even the people of God grow discouraged in the face of constant opposition, pervasive violence, widespread evil, and unrestrained idolatry. We are tempted to become weary, and disheartened, and to imagine, like Elijah. that in the praise and service of God we are the only one left (1 Kings 19:10).
Sometimes we are even lured like the people of Israel, into warped perspectives and blatant lies: ‘It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out His requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it’ (Malachi 3:14-15).
As we wrestle with circumstances and conditions around us that seem hopeless and out of control, we sometimes feel like Job, “Though I cry, ‘Violence!’ I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice" (Job 19:7).
But Your word reminds us that Your sovereign will prevails: The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations (Psalm 33:10-11).
Protect our hearts, Lord, from weariness and discouragement, doubt and despair. You reminded Elijah—facing temptation to give up—that He was not alone. And You remind us that we are not alone. Help us to endure to the end (Matthew 24:13).
We go back again and again to the truth of Your word, Do you not know? Have you not heard... You are the everlasting God (Isaiah 40:28). You reserve and You preserve. We are strengthened and encouraged by the words of Jude:
To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen (Jude 1:24-25).
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