Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.” (NKJV)

Imagine a line where God’s truth is at one extreme, and the world’s truth is at the other (I think God’s truth is Jesus, and the world’s version of truth is there is no true God).

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Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, a day that starts Passion Week and celebrates Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  We know that Jesus was always closely aligned with God’s truth.

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Similarly, many of the great men and women of the faith in the Bible followed God’s truth. But sometimes they struggled with listening to the world’s truth, just as I’m tempted to do.

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Elijah, featured in today’s scripture, was usually aligned with God’s truth. He experienced things that we can only imagine. At the beginning of I Kings 17, he prophesied a drought, and it came to pass. God sent him east of the Jordan River to be fed by wild ravens. After his water source dried up, God sent Elijah north to Zarephath where he met a widow and her son – they had only enough flour and oil to make a loaf of bread for Elijah, but he promised them that their oil and flour would not run out – and it didn’t! Later, the boy died, but God raised him through Elijah, which made the woman finally believe that Elijah’s truth was God’s truth. In chapter 18, God showed his power to Israel through Elijah when he sent fire from heaven to consume Elijah’s offering, an offering that had been soaked with water.  At that point, Elijah challenged the Israelites: “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him” (I Kings 18:21).

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But even Elijah wavered. He struggled to stand firm against the world’s truth and was tempted to think that the God he believed in was not real. Soon after the miracles in I Kings 17 and 18, Elijah felt fear and hopelessness when he fled from Jezabel’s wrath. He didn’t trust God to save or protect him. He took matters into his own hands. He let fear creep in, and he became exhausted, disappointed, and despondent to the point of wanting to die! I think that he had already imagined how God’s plan would play out, and when it didn’t work out as Elijah planned, he lost faith in God. He turned from God’s truth, truth he had experienced only days before, and started to listen to the world’s truth.

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But that’s not the end!

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God restored Elijah’s faith and protected him. Later in Chapter 19, God revealed himself to Elijah in a still small voice. He continued to serve God as a prophet for the rest of his life, and trained Elisha to replace him. In 2 Kings 2, at the end of Elijah’s time on Earth, God took him to heaven in a flaming chariot.  

I find it refreshing to read about the men and women of the Bible who dealt with life’s struggles and temptations as we do today, but who usually persevered. Sometimes, I find the world’s truth to be so appealing. Is God real? Is prayer worthwhile? Should I bother to go to church? Should I take the time to read my Bible? Should I submit and sacrifice? Should I love as Jesus did?

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I find the world’s truth to be so easy, so seductive, so comfortable, so seemingly rational. God’s truth is not; it’s hard and counter-intuitive to my human nature. The world’s truth becomes easier to believe when we’re down, when we’re tired, when we’re frustrated, when we fail, when we’re angry, and when we’re hurt.  

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But like Elijah, when we waver, following the world’s truth, we know that God’s truth remains, and we can return to it.  

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As we approach Easter, consider: where is your truth?  

Is your truth one that believes in God?  The world would have you believe that there is no God, or that God can be anything that you believe in.  

Is your truth one that believes that God really allowed His Son to die on a cross for our sins? The world would say that’s lunacy.  

Is your truth one that believes that God then raised that same Son from the dead? The world would say that is scientifically impossible - that the facts have been distorted.  

Is your truth one that believes in submission to God’s plan for you? The world would say that we should do what we want to do.  

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So, where is your truth? Is it aligned with God’s truth or do you “waver between two opinions”?  

Father in Heaven, thank you for giving us truth, and for giving us the Bible and so many signs that reveal Your truth. We know that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Help me to understand and follow Your truth and Your plan, but also to understand the world’s truth and to resist it. Amen.