Elijah had just demonstrated the great power of God. He had arranged a contest between himself and the prophets of Baal. They were to offer a bull as a sacrifice to Baal and he was to offer a bull in sacrifice to the Lord. They would each put the bull on the altar on top of the wood but they were not to set fire to the wood. Then they were to call on their god to answer by fire and Elijah would call on the Lord. Whichever God answered by fire, He would be God. The prophets of Baal agreed to this contest so they prepared their sacrifice and called on Baal for many hours with no success. Then Elijah prepared his altar and even had them pour water on the altar. Then he called upon the Lord. 1 Kings 18:38-40 “Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, ‘The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!’ And Elijah said to them, ‘Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!’ So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.” After such a successful demonstration of the power of God, you would think that Elijah would be encouraged; but he was not. When Queen Jezebel heard what Elijah had done, she vowed to kill Elijah. So Elijah ran away to the wilderness and traveled forty days and nights to arrive at the mountain of God. 1 Kings 19:13b-14 “Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ And he said, ‘I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.’” Elijah felt all alone and was afraid for his life. But the Lord had more work for Elijah to do and said in 1 Kings 19:18 “’Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.’” Elijah felt very much alone and discouraged, but the Lord said that he was not alone – there were seven thousand in Israel who did not worship Baal.
Like Elijah, it might be easy for you to feel discouraged in your Christian life. But I wish to encourage you. There are thousands and perhaps millions of true believers in Christ throughout the world, all who have not bowed their knee to the god of this world. You need to be encouraged by fellow Christians and they need to be encouraged by you. The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome. At that time, Paul had never been to Rome. But he wrote to the brethren there and said in Romans 1:11-12 “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.” I am not a great world traveler, and yet I have been to many cities and other countries and visited multiple church congregations. I am encouraged when I have fellowship with other Christians with mutual faith.
We are encouraged because we believe alike. We read the same Bible; we have the same faith in God and in Jesus Christ. We follow the same biblical principles for living as given to us from God. Jesus Christ is our common Lord and master. When I meet another Christian, I know what kind of life they lead because we both are taught by the same master. Jesus said in Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” Our lives are built upon the same rock.
We can be encouraged in our trials. Whatever trial we face in life, others have faced similar trials. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” We can sympathize with each other and offer words of encouragement. Sometimes it is just enough to know that others who love us are by our side and there for us in our time of trial. Hebrews 3:13 “But exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
We can be encouraged because we have a common hope. Jude 3 “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” 2 Timothy 1:12 “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” We have a common salvation and a common hope of eternal life. We can encourage each other to not be discouraged or to give up.
We can cause each other to grow spiritually. Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” When we share our faith and our understanding of spiritual principles with each other, it strengthens our faith, develops greater understanding of God and His ways, and causes growth. Acts 2:42, 47b “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
Mutual faith is God’s antidote for spiritual loneliness. It reminds us that no believer is meant to walk alone. Every believer—strong or weak—has something to contribute. Faith grows best in community, not isolation. God designed His people to strengthen one another. It’s a picture of the body of Christ functioning as it should: each part supplying what the others need.
Don’t be discouraged. I encourage you to have fellowship with others of like faith so that you may help them and they may help you in the time that we have here on this earth.