The 7,000

Have you ever asked God to show you the 7,000? I did just the other day, with surprising results.

Let’s first review what the 7,000 is all about.

In 1 Kings 19, we find Elijah hiding in a cave, doing what discouraged prophets do.

Pouting . . .

Say what? Elijah? That guy who almost single-handedly defeated 850 false prophets on a mountain top? That wilderness survivor who thought nothing of butting heads with local politicians, telling them judgment would soon descend upon their heads?

Yeah, that guy. But the reason he was hiding in a cave is even worse.

He was scared . . . of a woman.

Not just any woman, mind you. Jezebel was no slouch–she even had her husband, King Ahab, shaking in his sandals at times. After the showdown with her prophets (in which she got skunked), Elijah should’ve been high-fiving everyone in sight. Instead, after hearing a rumor that Jezebel was gunning for him, he gathered his prophet robes around his knees and sprinted for the desert.

Where he ended up in that cave.

Enter God.

Saying, What are you doing here, Elijah?

Elijah hemmed and hawed around, defending his prophet resume` until God finally gave him his marching orders to return to Damascus.

Here’s where it gets interesting. In the midst of God’s further instructions, He gives Elijah a startling bit of news.

And this is where my 7,000 enters the story.

We were taking a walk in the orchards near our home, like we do every day, and I was feeling down about stuff. It seems like I’ve been pulling a bit of the Elijah tricks of late. Pouting, letting discouragement take hold, feeling a little bit too me-ish. Get it? I don’t know if it’s the direction (or lack thereof) that the world is going, or if it’s just me overthinking stuff, but here I am in Elijah’s cave.

Then, I remembered that bit of news God had given to Elijah:

Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel,

all whose knees have not bowed to Baal.

Now, this was good news for Elijah, because he’d been feeling all alone in his frantic dash away from that madwoman, Jezebel.

And it was good news for me. Right then and there, as we meandered with our dog through the orchard rows, I asked God to show me my 7,000 so I wouldn’t feel alone either. And, boy howdy, He was quick with His answer. About ten minutes later, as we rounded a corner, here is what I saw.

An Apple Tree . . .

But not just any apple tree. This tree grows here, in the cracks of that concrete, every doggone year. But this day, it spoke to me. Here’s what it said, in God’s voice right to my heart:

Deb, if I can cause an apple tree to bloom in concrete,

what do you think I can do in this mixed up, topsy-turvy world?

And that is all, my friends.

I choose to trust. I intend to grow in whatever crack or crevice God places me, and to show off His blooms to the world.

How about you?