And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word (I Kings 18:21, KJV).
The Valley of Indecision
Indecision is the worst. It’s the place of being between 2 decisions. When the Nation of Israel was in the valley of spiritual indecision, the prophet Elijah asked them how long they would be “lame or crippled” in the land of indecision. Scripture tells us that when we have a double mind, we’re unstable in all our ways (James 1:8). A double mindset starts to set in when we’re in the moment of indecision. This is a time in which the devil will launch his attack and try to isolate us.
The Voice We Serve
There will be times in our life when we won’t know whether to move forward or turn back. During those times, God’s voice will ring out, beckoning us to serve Him. However, the enemy will also try to trick us to disregard God’s voice. But, the only voice we should listen to is the Lord’s! We need to be obedient to His voice and serve Him alone.
Indecision is all about what we’re really going to serve. We will either serve God or serve something or someone contrary to God. If we don’t subscribe to God’s Word, we’re on the wrong side. No man can serve 2 masters (Matthew 6:24). What we serve creates a record of decisions we make (it’s not what we say). Serving is in the details of our life and not just the declarations. God wants to be in every detail.
Turn to What Works
We shouldn’t be stuck in or worried about decisions. God will supply our every need; therefore, we need to trust Him (Matthew 6:32)! If we seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, everything we’re worried about will be taken care of (Matthew 6:33). We see this fulfilled in God’s servant, king Solomon. While Solomon was sleeping, God came to him in a dream. God asked Solomon what he wanted and he only asked for understanding and discernment to judge God’s people. Because Solomon didn’t ask for riches, power, or a long life, God gave him that anyway. God will supply our needs!
Elijah provided Israel a simple solution for indecision: calling on the Name of the Lord. Elijah basically told God’s people to serve what works. However, the people had forsaken the Lord and were investing in resources that didn’t work (Jeremiah 2:13). We must be careful about what we pour into. If it’s man-made, it won’t work in our life! But, if we turn to God, He has something that will always be there for us and will always work.
Back to the Altar Experience
The prophets of Baal sacrificed and called to their false god most of the day; they never received a response. They even gave into cutting themselves. But, Elijah demonstrated something to God’s people: he went back to rebuild the altar of the Lord. He had them pour 12 barrels of water over the altar, prayed a simple prayer (I Kings 18:36–37), and the fire of the Lord fell! It moved and consumed the sacrifice and the entire altar. In our lives, if we’re in a valley of decision, we need to go back to the time when the fire first fell. When we get Jesus involved everything will be better.
