Elijah Prophet in despair

Elijah:Prophet in despair. 1 Kings 18,19

Sometimes it gets extremely dark in the tunnel. All of a sudden, just when we think we see a light at the end, instead it turns out to be a train coming right at us! Such is the hopeless, fatalistic view of a desperate person.

As people of Faith in Jesus Christ in the dark tunnels of life the light we see is the ever abiding presence of our loving God who is always with us and will never leave us! In those times when we are having difficulty seeing God’s presence (we do have out times) He is there to take our hand (Footprints in the sand) NOT to smuck us with a train. (Monty Python’s  version of God’s  presence ). Today we meet a great prophet of God who had one of those times of Despair.

1.       Elijah’s Life:

a.       Story of Elijah, Ahab, Jezebel.

                                                               i.      King Ahab (Ahab son of omri, did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him. Worship of Cananite God Baal. [FORBIDDEN IN LAW]no other gods before me.

                                                             ii.      Queen jezebel(daughter of Ethbaal, baal lives)  kills prophets of Yahweh.

                                                            iii.      Elijah sets up contest on Mt. Carmel to decide once and for all who the true God of Israel is!

                                                           iv.      Each  prepares an altar, cut up an ox for sacrifice. Prophets of Baal Jump up and down, shout and plead for baal to act. Elijah taunts them. Up to 3 pm.

                                                             v.      Elijah prepares altar on the restored site of God’s original site. Lays out the cut up ox and then pours water over the altar and wood 3 times. Even fills the trench around the altar with water and them prays to God. God in a spectacular display of power consumes the offering and the Holy fire even dries up the water in the trench (licks it  up )

b.      Elijah looses heart when Queen jezebel discovers that 450 of her prophets were destroyed by him and VOWS to kill him

                                                               i.      He flees to the desert of southern Judah specifically Beersheba.

                                                             ii.      He is so in despair, and guilt for failing in his task that he sits under a broom bush (Juniper tree) and pleads with god to kill him on the spot.

                                                            iii.      Angels minister to him and prepares him for the long journey to Mt Horeb.

                                                           iv.      He spends 40 days in this dessert on his way to Mt Horeb (Sinai). A journey should have taken him 14 days on foot.

                                                             v.      Arriving at the mountain range he finds a cave.

c.       WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE ELIJAH? 2 times. 19:9,13

                                                               i.      God Playing pshycologist here.( how ore you feeling now? What are you going to do now? )  For God knew he was on his way. God knew why he was there. The question was to enable him to examine what brought him to this point in his life. (these are critical points in  our lives and we all have them. [GROWTH points]

                                                             ii.      Elijah was despairing because felt all alone in the task God has set before him of restoring Israel to a right relation ship with God.

                                                            iii.      What might have been some of his thoughts. Lets fill in some blanks from our own experiences when we felt like Elijah at this point!

1.       I’m a Failure

2.       I am a disappointment

3.       I am worthless

4.       I did something wrong

5.       I could have done my job better.

6.       I’m tired of this work

7.       No one is listening.   (any more???)

2.       There may be many times we would like to run and hide from what frightens us in this world:

a.       From what seems to be insurmountable problems.

b.      What seems to us as failures? ( clergy often experience this. (God’s people at heart but sometimes we feel we fail god and his people.) BURNOUT

c.       Running fromLife in general. I can’t imagine what the person who is contemplating taking their own life is like. BUT Elijah was there. He pleaded with God to kill him.

d.      The bible and the story’s we share from them and the hope we have in Jesus encourages us to faith ,belief,  trust. LIFE IS GOOD IN GOD.

3.       Elijah’s mistake was that “His eyes were on his circumstances rather than on the Lord”

a.       NO NEED TO DISPAIR : God was always there with him. Brook Cherith –God/Ravens /bread; Zerapeth-widow/son/flour/oil; Mt. Carmel-awesome power of God.

b.      God didn’t chastise Elijah for his lapse in faith but instead demonstrated his PRESENCE.

Conclusion: James 5:17 says:” Elijah was a man with a nature like ours”. As intimately as he was with the Almighty God and with all that he saw and did, and as filled with the Holy Spirit as he was,  he had moments when he wavered in faith when he despaired thinking he failed and thought his life was over but as he was in the presence of God he was reassured and given another mission to further God’s kingdom. So with us when we waiver, don’t loose heart but go to God in prayer, seek Him in the scriptures, and in his people the church. Remember in the darkness of  life Jesus is the light!