A Remnant.

Rom 11:1  I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 

Rom 11:2  God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 

Rom 11:3  Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 

Rom 11:4  But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. 

Rom 11:5  Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 

Elijah- a prophet of God spoke to God and said that the enemies of God had killed all the other prophets of His, that He was alone, the last, the only prophet left and his life was at stake. This was the perception Elijah had from his point of view. Yes, prophets had been slain--

1Ki 18:4  For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) 

--but Elijah had no way of knowing how many prophets God had alive at any given time. Still, because he was frightened for his own life, he sent a plea to God. He told God he alone was left and his enemy sought to kill him, the last one.  God's reply wasn't what Elijah expected. Go had reserved seven thousand men who did not worship Baal.  Seven thousand! Here he was thinking he was alone in his dedication, his faith, his love of God, but he was far from alone. Seven thousand men served God, that was a whole lot of people serving God.  Paul, speaking of the Israelites- those stemming from the bloodline of Abraham- used this example to point out right then and there that there was ALSO a people, a remnant left of those of Abraham's bloodline who belonged to God through the grace of Jesus Christ.  It might seems as if the whole of Israelites other than the few such as Paul, himself and the other apostles, that there were very few who believed in Jesus, and salvation found in Him, but there were many more.

We truly need to remember God's ways are not our ways, God's thoughts are not our thoughts.

Isa_55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

According to the election of grace there were a remnant left that belonged to God.

While people might want to doubt there are any believing in the truth of the Savior unto salvation, because this world is so awful and it is so hard to walk in the Spirit-- God has a people reserved, a remnant that belong to Him. We can only hope and pray that we are among those of the remnant.  We long to belong to God!