Elijah’s mission was that the Lord will be God. His mission was to see all the people of Israel acknowledge the Lord as God. He wanted the case in Israel to be that God will be acknowledged in the people’s affairs and in everything going on in Israel. Elijah desired a situation where every one would become a devout worshipper of the one and true living God. This was the picture God gave Elijah. It was the dream burning in his heart. It was his mission. It was simply why God sent him, and so everything he was doing was directed towards fulfilling this mission that he was brought into the world to fulfill.

So, Elijah understood that:

Merely locking the heavens for three and half years would not bring about the materialization of his vision. Calling down fire from heaven would not by itself enable the fulfillment of his mission. Killing the prophets of Baal will not in any way translate to the achievement of his dream. Bringing back the rain again after three years and running ahead of the king in his chariot were pointless feats in themselves which would not facilitate the accomplishment of his mission.

Elijah deeply understood that locking up the rains, bringing fire down from heaven, and killing Baal’s prophets were just means to a greater end. He refused to let the glamorous success of the means blind him to the more important and strategic end.

Elijah understood that while these things were awesome manifestations of the power of God, they were simply means to an end. He understood that your manifestations are a means to your end- your mission. He understood that although his achievements were glamorous and quite spectacular, they were means to an end.

So, Elijah did not allow the glamour of those accomplishments to blind him to the real goal. He did not allow that to blind him to his more important strategic end. He did not let it distract him from his mission.