Elijah the Tishbite. He stepped out of nowhere to become a significant prophet of God. The rugged, gaunt prophet from the obscure town of Tishbeh became God’s powerful instrument of confrontation.
Alone, Elijah faced off with over four hundred prophets of the false god Baal…and won. Yet, on another occasion, he became so terrified of a woman that he ran for his life. He was a man who God sent His ravens to fee. A man who God loved so much that He prepared a special chariot and horses of fire to transport him from earth to heaven. He was Elijah—the man in a whirlwind, the humble hero.
“Like a meteor, he flashed across the inky blackness of Israel’s spiritual night.”
—J. Oswald Sanders
Like Elijah, we’re all subject to times of bravery and times of fear. One day we’re able to face life with a smile; the next, we feel crushed by its oppressive weight. We vacillate from courageous to cowardly, from hopeful to hopeless. Like Elijah, we are ordinary people with seemingly overwhelming problems. And the answer is in God alone as the name “Elijah” indicates: It means, “The Lord is my God.”
He lived courageously with his peers and walked humbly with his God.
Where are great leaders like Elijah today? Uncompromisingly strong, yet self-controlled. Disciplined, yet forgiving. Audaciously courageous, yet kind. Heroic in the heat of battle, yet humble in the aftermath.
We see a few such men and women, but the list is tragically short. Rarely does someone model these invaluable traits more obviously than God’s mighty prophet Elijah, whose calling was anything but calm and free from conflict. Nevertheless, as you are about to discover in this book. Elijah exemplified true heroism and genuine humility amid the relentless pressure of battle.
Elijah: A Man of Heroism and Humility is the fifth volume in the best-selling Great Lives from God’s Word series by Charles Swindoll. The series also includes such powerful biographies as Joseph, David, Esther, and Moses.
Exploring the depths of Elijah’s fascinating life as a prophet of God, Swindoll does not gloss over his human weaknesses; rather, he presents an honest picture of this ordinary man who God transformed into His personal spokesman to confront idolatry and evil in the ancient world. You will find that it’s a life worth emulating.
In a world that has lost its way, due in part to the lack of balanced, godly leadership, we are more than ever in need of a few Elijah-like men and women who are not afraid to live courageously among their peers as they walk humbly with their God.
“May this book establish deep within you a desire to stand strong for what is right as you bow low before Him who is worthy of your trust and obedience.”—Charles Swindoll
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