The Compass That Points Two Directions

In 1943, a Norwegian fisherman named Arne Kvalvik discovered that his boat compass had been sabotaged by the German occupation forces. They had placed a second magnet beneath the housing, so the needle swung wildly between true north and a false heading. For three days, Arne tried to navigate the Vestfjorden by splitting the difference — steering a course halfway between the two readings. He nearly ran aground on the Lofoten rocks before an older fisherman in Svolvær told him the blunt truth: "You cannot average two norths, Arne. One of them is a lie. Pick the real one or drown."

That is precisely the question Elijah hurled at Israel on Mount Carmel. "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him." And the text records the most devastating response imaginable — silence. Not rebellion. Not argument. Just the quiet paralysis of people trying to steer between two magnets, hoping the middle course would keep them safe.

But there is no middle course on Carmel. The Almighty does not ask for a percentage of our allegiance. He asks for all of it. Arne's sabotaged compass could not guide him home, and a divided heart cannot find its way to the living God. Elijah's question still hangs in the air, waiting for an answer that silence cannot provide.