FUN WITH ONE

ONE!  Is there a lonelier number than ONE?  Ever try to clap with ONE hand? Ever try to play catch alone? Or sing a duet alone?  Ever try to leave the house but only found ONE shoe?  No one likes ONE!

Mom: “Just ONE cookie!”  You: “Here’s the problem, Mom, I have TWO hands.” No one likes ONE!  Why?  ONE seems so insignificant.  If you were eating a bowl of chips, happened to look away with enough time for me to snag ONE chip, most likely you wouldn’t notice.  ONE is insignificant. 

Yet, James, Jesus’ half-brother drops this line:  Elijah was a man just like us. James 5:17a (NIV)

Let’s check out your counting skills:  How many men is that?  That’s right:  ONE!  “Elijah was a man…” That’s just ONE man.  ONE man impacted a whole nation (1 Kings 17-19).  ONE!  That’s not an army, a committee, a gang, a task force or a crew.  A man!  That tells me that God can raise up ONE person to do great things:

• ESTHER:  God raised up ONE woman to save all of Israel.
• DAVID:  ONE shepherd boy was the only willing to stand against a giant.
• SHAMGAR:  ONE man killed six hundred Philistines with an ox goad and delivered all of Israel.

God might raise up ONE God fearing person in a home where there is none.  God might raise up ONE person to share a word of hope to shine in a situation plagued with doubt and fear.  God might raise up ONE mom to hold back the enemies influence in her children’s lives.  Stop looking around waiting for someone else to move.

James wasn’t done:  Elijah was a man just like us.  James 5:17a (NIV)  

Just like us?  I’m having trouble with that.  I’ve read Elijah’s story:

• He called fire down from heaven in the greatest showdown in the Bible.  I have a problem starting a fire.
• He stopped rain for 3 ½ years.  I’ve prayed for no rain.  It rained.
• He raised the dead.  I can’t even get the living to do stuff.
• He ran faster than a horse.  I…let’s just say I’m not that fast.

How is Elijah like me?  I can’t picture him with robe and sandals, driving my Prius with a chai latte in one hand and beard flying in the wind.  He seems nothing like me!

In the original language “just like us” simply means that Elijah faced the same circumstances, had the same feelings and experiences that we’ve had.  Yes, he was a great prophet who seemed to have superpowers but he also was a fellow sufferer, part of the fraternity of damaged humanity.  This tells me that God can do great things with regular people.  That’s good news because that’s us—regular people.  There are some of you that are standing before something bigger than you are and the situation seems overwhelming and impossible.  You feel like you’ve brought a knife to a gun fight.  You feel outmanned and outnumbered.  How did ONE regular guy effect so much change?

Elijah was a man just like us. James 5:17a (NIV)

That’s a powerful name, Elijah.  It means: “My God is YAHWEH!”  In other words, man plus God always equals a majority.  Elijah didn’t do amazing things.  God did amazing things through ONE regular guy named Elijah!  God can do the same through you.  ONE is significant when ONE is yielded to the Almighty God!