Caught Between Two Opinions

In I Kings 18:20 we read, “So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal (the things of the world) is god, follow him.”  Elijah presented to them the question that is first and foremost in our life, and in the lives of the people we seek to minister too.  No other question matters or will lead to any kind of heart change until this question is answered.  Then as we know Elijah challenged the 490 prophets to build an altar and to pray for their god to send a fire on that altar.  In the meantime, as they cried out to their false gods and cut themselves Elijah got busy repairing the altar of the Lord that had fallen into disrepair.  They spent the entire day screaming in despair for Baal to send fire, which of course he could not because he was an idol.  At the end of the day Elijah soaked the altar with water and then presented it to the Lord. He prayed a simple prayer of surrender and acknowledgement of God being the sovereign Lord of all.  He set it up so that only God could do what God did.  Then God consumed the sacrifice and the altar, and the people cried out, “The Lord He is God, the Lord He is God.”  Many years earlier Joshua stood before the people of Israel and said,

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the river and in Egypt and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your father served in the region beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.  But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

  There are always two opinions to choose from.  We will either serve the Lord or the things of this world, which will, if allowed continue to trap and consume us until our hearts are committed to these idols.  The people we counsel and seek to minister must settle this matter before real change can take place.  The idols of this world are the things or people that consume us and rule over us: Lust, pornography, envy. The list goes on, but these are the Baals of our heart that we have allowed to reign in our hearts. They will not release their grip on us until we make the decision that the Lord He is God, and He will rule and reign over ne.  In Romans 12:1,2 we see a clear directive of settling this question,

“I appeal to you, therefore brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Tozer used to point out when commenting on our being called to take up our cross and follow Him, that if you saw a man carrying a cross in Roman times you knew that he was not coming back. His destiny was established and would be carried out. 

As important as the steps of renewing our minds are, and the tools we have through God’s Word, they will not produce change until the person has made a clear and total decision to present him/herself to God as a living and continual sacrifice.  Imagine a man or woman comes to you and declares that they are having an affair and are torn between their commitment to their spouse and to their new-found lover.  Trying to get them to think differently will be futile until they have made the decision of who they will serve.   Even counselors who work with addictions will tell you that no real change will take place until their clients have made the decision that they want something out of their life and will not stop until they get rid of this thing. 

All change begins with a desire for intimacy with God that will not be satisfied with anything else.  We are so caught up with the things of this world that we have lost sight of the pursuit of God.  I love the prayer of A.W. Tozer in his book “The Pursuit of God:”

“O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, ‘Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.’ Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.”

©2025 David W. Drake, President, Renewed Hope, Inc.