Dare to Stand Alone

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 29, 1885

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 41.

Dare to Stand Alone.

"GATHER to me all Israel, . . . and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table." So far as Elijah knew, he was all alone in God's service. The court, and the priesthood, and the people were all against him and his cause; the church, the state, and the rabble, on one side; and he on the other. But what of that? He had no fear, and he asked no odds. Gather them all, he said, and I will face them squarely. No child of God need ever be afraid because of the numbers which oppose him. To take appearances into account, is to count God out of the conflict. There are two adages current in the world, and men's faith or faithfulness shows itself according to the adage they accept as their creed. "God is on the side of the heaviest battalions!" That is the godless creed. All history gives the lie to it; and it is a falsehood, history or no history. "God and one man are always a majority!" That is a creed worth standing by—worth falling by, if need be. The history of the world shows that God's best work in the world has been carried forward by one man at a time breasting the combined forces of evil. We have no right to expect popular support in God's service. Three things will be pretty sure to oppose us always,—the world, the flesh, and the devil. Unless we are ready to face these in their fullest force, we might as well be counted out from active service in God's campaigning.—Sel.