Every time I read the story of Elijah on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18, I am fascinated by the complexity of the character of Elijah, and how very human it makes this towering giant of Scripture. The same man who fearlessly faces down the combined might of the 850 pagan priests of Baal and Asherah—taunting, challenging and ultimately annihilating them—just a few verses later is running for his life in fear from the threats of the vengeful Queen Jezebel.

Does that somehow remind you of anyone? How one minute we can be mighty men and women of God, doing "great exploits," and the next when something goes wrong, we immediately dive for cover, waiting expectantly for the sky to fall in on us. Well, it happens to me sometimes anyway ... hopefully not to too many others.

From Triumph To Trepidation

In 1 Kings 18:19-45, Elijah is all-conquering. He destroys the pagan priests, brings down flood rains to break the three-year drought in Israel and, in the power of the Lord, runs on foot ahead of the mounted Ahab from Carmel to Jezreel. But in Jezreel, it all starts to fall apart for Elijah. Jezebel comes on the scene, and she must have been one very scary lady!

Although Elijah could obviously handle Ahab without a hitch, Jezebel was something else. When Ahab told her what Elijah had done to her pet prophets, her reaction was to threaten Elijah: "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them" (1 Kings 19:2).

The reaction of the conquering hero of the Carmel triumph? "Elijah was afraid and ran for his life ... He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die" (1 Kings 19:3-4). Elijah clearly felt betrayed and alone. He had carried out this mighty feat of courage, and now he felt weak and depressed; there was no one around to tell him to feel better, and how clever and brave he had been.

From the mountain top to the depths of the valley. From the heights of victory to the pits of despair. A potent, powerful reminder of the Scripture that tells us to be most careful during moments when we think we are "standing,"—when we think things are going really well—because that is the very time when we are in greatest danger of falling. Overconfidence is a dangerous place to be!

Why did Elijah go from the elation of high success to wanting to die? I believe at least partly he felt alone and isolated. In reading the story, there is no evidence that he had any real supporters or friends around him when he made his challenge to the pagan prophets. In 1 Kings 18:22, he says he is "the only one of God's prophets left." Notice that verses 30 and 31 point out that he, by himself, repaired the altar with 12 stones, dug a trench around it, arranged the wood, cut a bull into pieces, and laid them on the wood.

We can see how being alone preyed on his mind. A few verses later, he is feeling totally sorry for himself, miserably bewailing his fate on Horeb, the mountain of God: "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty ... I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too" (1 Kings 19:10). Even after God speaks to him on Mount Horeb in the famous "still, small voice," and asks him what he is doing, Elijah replies in almost the same whining, complaining words, telling God again how he has been so zealous for Him, and yet he is the only prophet left, alone and abandoned, and still in clear and present danger of his life.

Does the Lord pander to his mood, and say, "There, there, Elijah, you poor little fellow; I know how you feel; it's terrible, I know, you've been so faithful, and yet, look how they've all left you and you've had to face all this all by your little self." No, that's not what God says at all!

God tells him to get up and get going—to do his job! He says: "Go back where you came from, anoint Hazael king over Aram, anoint Jehu king of Israel, and anoint Elisha to succeed you as prophet" (1 Kings 19:15-17). And then God tells him something that turns the whole picture around!

In his self-pity, Elijah was so sure he was alone. Yet, God tells him He has 7,000 others in Israel, who have never bowed down to Baal (1 Kings 19:18). Far from being alone, Elijah was one of 7,000 other believers who had stood up against the tyranny of Ahab, Jezebel and the priests of Baal!

And you know what? It's often like that for us today! Even though Jesus Himself tells us in Matthew 28:20 that He is always with us, "even to the end of the age," I think we find it all too easy to join Elijah in his pity party, and his misanthropic assumptions that we are all alone, deserted and forgotten.

Discovering Submariners

I can recall many years ago when I took a job as editor of a newspaper in Australia, not that long after I had been born again. Knowing journalists from a lifetime in the industry, I was quite negative about the chances of finding like-minded believers on staff.

Like Elijah, I thought I would be alone, and for the first few weeks, I was sure of it. Yet, again like Elijah, how wrong I was! Although, as the boss, I had to be careful I didn't "push" my beliefs on the staff, I did make it very clear where I stood on issues of faith and morality. In biblical terms, I didn't "hide my light under a bushel," but let the light of Jesus shine in whatever ways I could.

In those days, as a relatively new Christian, I hadn't heard about "submarine" believers—Christians who cruise around, safely hidden under the water, with just their periscopes up and looking around, and usually only coming to the surface on Sundays to go to church. Then on Monday, it's "Dive! Dive!" and they go back down for another week of "deep running."

But because I was able to create an atmosphere that was open and supportive, it wasn't long before some periscopes started coming up a little higher, and then some of the submarines actually began to surface for short periods even during the week. As time went on, more and more surfaced, until it sometimes felt like I had a revival meeting on my hands instead of a newspaper office!

I had no idea I was surrounded by so many other Christians, until they all felt safe enough to come up from the depths of fear and embarrassment. At least half my staff were Christians of varying degrees of commitment, but had been afraid that if they declared their faith, they would be ridiculed or shunned.

So many of us are in a similar situation today. We work in a rigidly secular marketplace, surrounded by worldly and often anti-Christian colleagues, and we often feel alone and isolated, just like Elijah. But if we are prepared to let our light shine, and be the light and salt we are commanded by our Lord to be, we might be amazed to find that we are far from alone.

God told Elijah that there were 7,000 others who had not bowed the knee to Baal—and Elijah, who had been too caught up cowering in fear and despair, simply had no idea of the real situation. Maybe lots of those 7,000 were "submarines" or semi-submersibles, but they were there, just cruising around, waiting for someone to shine a light and bring them out into the open.

If that's how you feel in your workplace—like the only Christian in a sea of unbelief and immorality—try letting your light shine and see how many "submarines" come to the surface around you. It doesn't mean that you have to stand on a soapbox and start preaching to them. It does mean that by your behavior, by your attitude, you will stand out from the crowd and people will see that there is something different about you.

It has been said that you may be the only Bible some people will read. If that is so, then have the courage to be that "Bible." Don't join in the dirty joke-telling, the petty pilfering, the gossiping, the expense account padding, the "white lies" and corner-cutting that you probably see all around you on any average day in the average workplace.

Listen to what Jesus says to you: "The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned" (Matt. 4:16). You can be that light in your workplace, reflecting that "great light" ... the "true Light that gives light to every man" (John 1:9).