How do you determine your odds?

A few days ago, I read a story about man, Gregg Garfield, who was “patient zero” or the first COVID patient to be admitted at Provence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, CA back in February. He spent more than 2 months in that hospital and spent 31 days of that time in a medically induced coma. One detail that really jumped out at me int his story was that the doctors told Mr. Garfield that he only had 1% chance of survival. Nevertheless, on Friday May 8^th, after spending over 2 months in the hospital Mr. Garfield overcame the odds and walked out to great applause a healed man. 

Have you ever been in a “1%” kind of situation? Maybe in your marriage? Or job? Or financial situation? Maybe in dealing with parenting a certain child (young or old)-maybe when dealing with a sin in your life you have had for years and simply know you can never defeat? Whatever the situation is you simply know it is an impossible one, you look at all the evidence and you listen to your well-meaning loved ones and friends, and you look at other times this has happened to other people and you know you have no chance, not even 1%.

I have a question for you today – how do you determine your odds?

In 1 Kings 18 a pagan king was leading Israel – Ahab was his name and he was a worshiper of Baal. During this time Elijah was God’s prophet tasked with trying to call God’s people back to Him. So, Elijah presents a challenge, he meets Ahab and the 450 prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel with all of Israel watching. Both he and the Baal prophets will set up an alter and put a bull on it and call upon their respective deities to send down fire upon the alter. Whichever God responds is the one true God. 

Elijah allows the Baal prophets to go first and boy do they try. All day they try! At noon Elijah starts making fun of them! He says to them in 1 Kings 18:27, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”

Then they start cutting themselves with lances and swords as was their custom, and wailing for Baal to light this altar and nothing happens.

Finally, at the end of the day Elijah has the bull put on the alter and then he does something extra. He has 12 jars full of water poured over it so that the wood is soaked and the water has pooled around it.

Now, what are the odds that when Elijah prays, God will send down fire and light this altar that is soaking wet? Well your answer depends on which you believe more in, God or this world. If you believe in this world than it is utterly hopeless. But if you believe in God well anything is possible. 

Elijah prays and asks God to light this altar so “that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” This is always God’s goal, by the way. 

And sure enough fire came down and “consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.”

Are you feeling hopeless about something today? Are you convinced that you have a less than 1% chance in your marriage, against a sin, dealing with your kids, paying the bills, finding a good job? Well, how are you determining your odds?

In 1 Kings 18:21 Elijah cries out to the Israelites who have put their faith in Baal, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”

Might I suggest that if you are feeling hopeless about something than you are very likely “limping between two different opinions” about who God is. If God is God, if He is love and if Jesus Christ rose from the grave – what are you dealing with that He can’t handle?

God has a habit of waiting for the odds to be overwhelmingly against you before He moves. He allowed 12 jars of water to be poured before He lit the altar, He dwindled Gideon’s army down to 300 with no swords before He sent them against an army of hundreds of thousands, and we mustn’t forget that Jesus was dead for 3 days before He rose again.

Why does God do this? So that we will put our hope in Him no matter how bad it seems!