1 Kings 19:9-10 “And the word of the Lord came to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’”

Elijah is one of only two people recorded in the Bible who ever went to heaven without dying. The prophet was a faithful believer, but far from perfect. Do you note the self-righteous, entitled tone in his complaint? “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty.” It’s not that it wasn’t true, comparatively speaking. He is just a little too aware of the fact. His high view of himself adds fuel to his depression and pessimism. He has decided to identify himself as a victim. “In spite of how good I have been, I’m not being treated fairly.”

And once we settle into the role as victims, there is little left to do but complain. Sometimes you and I really are the victims. But don’t keep telling yourself that over and over. Don’t keep playing that tape in your head. (Am I dating myself with that phrase? Should I say, “Don’t keep listening to that podcast?) Too much victim-talk starts to drown out the sound of God’s promises.

The same is true of the stories we tell ourselves about the world around us. “The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword.” Again, he doesn’t speak as some lying politician. His evaluation pretty well lined up with the daily news. If they had fact checkers in 875 B.C., Elijah’s claims would be confirmed. It’s not that these things weren’t true. It’s that Elijah was spending far too much time dwelling on them.

So maybe the people were bad. Israelite faith, morality, and culture were all swirling in the toilet. Had God changed? Has he now? Yes, maybe the news is depressing. Yes, maybe my friends’ posts on Facebook do paint a gloomy picture of our people, our institutions, and our politics. Yes, maybe it is getting harder to be a Bible-believing Christian in the 21^st Century. But we are committing spiritual suicide when we let the pressing problems of our time talk over the voice of God in our lives.

Even if Elijah was right about being the only one left, even if we alone survived as Christian believers in our time, does that in any way change the fact that we know God in his grace? Doesn’t he still love us just the same? Hasn’t Jesus still forgiven all our sins and promised life that never ends in heaven? At least we can say, “I am left.” God has kept his promises to me. I am not alone as long as he is on my side.

Christian faith is not about being part of the majority in a popularity contest. It is about receiving God’s gifts. If we start there, we will be better equipped to deal with those who are not eager to share our spiritual blessings.