LORD I THINK I’VE HAD ENOUGH!
1 Kings 19:1-18
By Cleavon Matthews
December 29, 2003
INTRODUCTION
In this solemn Scripture our attention is seized by the shattered state of God’s messenger. This valiant and venturous prophet has been victimized by fear. At this point he is but a shadow of the man he had been. He is crouched underneath the Juniper tree in despondency and despair. His past miracles have been erased from his short-term memory. The luster of his life has faded from view. He is exhausted. The burning flames of his faith have been extinguished by his emotional handicaps. His brass bravery has been expunged by the price placed on his head. He is a man anticipating nothing but anguish. He has plunged to the point of pathetic. Broken by fear he prays to the God of life for death. Hope has been abandoned. Expectancy has been evacuated. Confidence has been crippled. Nothing remains except emptiness, darkness, and gloom.
It is hard to believe this is the same man. Is this really Elijah the Tishbite? The man we know stood boldly and unapologetic before Ahab and promised a drought of both rain and dew. The man we know drank water from the brook and was fed by the ravens. The Elijah we know told the widow of Zarepath not to be afraid. The man we know brought her son back to life. The Elijah we know defeated and killed the 450 prophets of Baal. The Elijah we know called down fire from heaven and consumed 104 men. The Elijah we know divided the Jordan and walked across on dry ground. The Elijah we know appeared with Jesus and Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration. I’m trying to tell you that no matter how great you are you will still have some bad days!
Elijah is suffering from the stress and burden of his ministry. His self-image and self-esteem have been sabotaged. He feels like a failure. He is suffering from an emotional breakdown because he has been carrying the weight of his constituents. He has had all he can take. He has done everything in his power to turn God’s people around. He has been gallant but has received no gratitude. He has been convincing but has received no commendation. He has been truthful but has received no thanksgiving. Instead he has received a death threat from the Queen of corruption. Jezebel, Ahab’s Phoenician bride and servant of Baal has vowed to pierce him through with the sword as payback for the 450 prophets of Baal slain by Elijah.
Elijah was a man with passions like us (James 5:17). He has had enough! He has thrown in the towel. Sometimes as God’s people we become frustrated by our own faulty perceptions and fearful because of dreadful danger. He encouraged others but was unable to encourage himself. He was able to help others but he couldn’t help himself. Elijah has experienced enough! He can’t take anymore! He has reached his breaking point.
But we can’t be too hard on Elijah because we too have…
Problems we can’t solve
Stress we can’t stand
Appetites we can’t control
Tests we can’t tolerate
Desires we can’t contain
Hurts we can’t heal
Fears we can’t fight
Evils we can’t eradicate
Burdens we can’t bear
Dilemmas we can’t denounce
Sickness we can’t succor
Devils we can’t defeat
Storms we can’t settle
Rivers we can’t cross
Debts we can’t pay
Obstacles we can’t overcome
Pains we can’t appease
Gates we can’t open
Mountains we can’t climb
And sometimes we feel like throwing our hands up in the air and saying ‘Lord, I’ve had enough!’ I can’t take this anymore. The pressure has pulverized me. I can’t take this kind of treatment. I’ve had enough! I’m trying to do right but I’m suffering wrong. I’ve had enough of running scared. I’ve had enough. I’m tired of going out full and coming in empty. I’m discouraged, dismayed, and depressed. Lord I can’t keep living like this. My fight has faded. My zeal has gone cold. My determination has dwindled. Elijah is not alone in this kind of spiritual paralysis. Moses had a similar experience in his life (Numbers 11:15). Jeremiah went through a period of defeat and despondency (Jeremiah 20:7-8). Furthermore Jonah also had this kind of situation in his ministry (Jonah 1:12). So Elijah is not the only one.
James describes Elijah as a righteous man. James says Elijah is a man who prayed in faith. He is a man who prays effectually and fervently. He is a man who knows how to call on God. He is a man who knows how to reach the throne of heaven. He is a man who knows how to talk to the Lord. He is a man whose prayers avail much. He is a man who understands the God of heaven answers prayer. When he prayed for the skies to withhold the rain God answered. When he prayed for God to release the rain God answered. When he prayed for God to bring life back to the widow’s son God answered. When he prayed for God to respond by fire God answered. But I’m so glad when he prayed for death God didn’t answer! It was not the Lord’s will for Elijah to die underneath Jezebel’s sword. Don’t think just because your foe has defeated your friends that God will allow them to defeat you! The Lord does at least three things to help us in situations like this. God strengthens us. God searches us. God sends us.
I.GOD STRENGTHENED ELIJAH
1 Kings 19:5-8 “Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, Get up and eat. He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you. So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb the mountain of God.”
The Lord dispatched an angel to aid his servant. Certainly in this text we can understand what the Hebrew writer meant when he said, “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (1:14). As Elijah is snoozing in an effort to escape his reality the angel touches him and says get up and eat. Right near his head is some hot bread and water. Elijah ate the bread and drank the water but continued to lay down.
The angel came back a second time! Get up and eat Elijah! We don’t always get it the first time! But thank God for the second time! Elijah has just been in the presence of an angel but he is still in a spiritual slump. He remains in an emotional abyss. He is not only distraught but he is obviously disconnected. But God will not give up on him. The Lord will not discharge him from this duty. The Lord will not release him from service. The angel came the second time!
Elijah the journey is too much for you! You need to eat some food and drink some water. You are not going to die in this wilderness. I’m not finished with you. Get up and eat! You have a journey. You have a destiny. You have a path to follow. I understand you can’t make it by yourself. I know you’ve had enough! I know you’re tired but God never grows weary or tired. The Lord gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak (Isaiah 40:29).
Elijah you need to eat and drink because it’s not a matter of what’s around you, it’s a matter of what’s in you! If you have the right stuff in you. If you have God’s supply in you. If you are nourished by the Lord, you will be able to make it. When you suffer a spiritual setback the only way to make a comeback is to be nourished by the Lord. Don’t give up the fight in the middle of the match. Don’t quit at half time. God is able to renew your strength. God is able to revitalize your mind. God is able to recharge your battery. God is able to renew your hope. God is able to rebuild your ruins. God is able to revive your spirit.
The only way to get strong is through adequate nutrition. Man does not live by bread alone but by every word, which proceeds from the mouth of God (Matt 4:4). We must desire the sincere milk of the word (1 Peter 2:2). We must allow the word of Christ to dwell in us richly in all wisdom (Col 3:16a). The only way to recover from your spiritual ruin is by way of Jesus! Jesus has what you need. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world” (John 6:48-51). The Lord knows you can’t make it on yesterday’s food. He said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire; and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). You need a living bread for you dead situations. You need a living bread for your spiritual hunger. You need a living bread for your barren cabinets. You need a living bread for your weakness. The Psalmist said, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song” (28:7).
God strengthened Elijah and he went forty days and forty nights with God’s supply. Forty is the number of testing. Forty is the number of proving. Forty is the number of judgment. Forty is often the amount time God uses to prepare his people for great works. Noah spent forty days and nights in the Ark. The spies spent forty days in the land of promise. Goliath challenged God’s people for forty days. God gave Nineveh forty days to repent. Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness. The disciples spent forty days with Jesus before Pentecost (Acts 1:3).
Up to this point Elijah had never been tested. Elijah had always prevailed as a victor. Elijah had always been a man of courage. Don’t you remember how he stood alone against the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who ate at Jezebel’s table? Don’t you remember how Elijah taunted them in Carmel? Don’t you remember how he told them to shout louder? Don’t you remember how Elijah said perhaps Baal was deep in thought, busy, traveling, or maybe sleeping? But now this dynamic man of God is being tested and proven! You need to understand God always judges his people before He brings the final judgment. Peter said, “For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the Gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).
He travels until he reaches Horeb the mountain of God in the Sinai Peninsula. This is the same mountain range where Moses talked to God in the Burning Bush. This is the same mountain range where the Law was given to Israel. Elijah had been running away from Jezebel but now he is running to God! Elijah goes to the place where he knows God shows up. He goes to the place where the Covenant was established. He traveled forty days and forty nights in order to meet with God. This causes me to think about the Psalmist. “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God, My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (42:1-2). Elijah needed an audience with God. He needed guidance. He needed direction. I don’t know about you but I need to meet with God on a regular basis. When man meets with the Master his life is transformed. When the creature meets with the Creator his understanding is enlightened. When the servant meets with the Savior his attitude is adjusted, his outlook is overhauled, his perception is prescribed, his demeanor is detoxed, his mind is made-over, his doubts are demolished, and his fears are foiled.
II.GOD SEARCHED ELIJAH
1 Kings 19:9-14 “There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: ‘What are you doing here Elijah? He replied, I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too. The Lord said, Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, ‘what are you doing here, Elijah? He replied, I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
Twice the Lord asked Elijah ‘what are you doing here?’ Why are you in this cave? Why have you come to Horeb? Elijah’s response is flattering but superficial. He has been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The very fact of this Divine designation serves as an indictment against Elijah. If He is Lord God Almighty then there was no genuine reason to be filled with fear. Elijah forgot who were the true opponents. It was not Jezebel versus Elijah. It was Baal versus the Lord God Almighty!
Elijah suggests the reason for his being in Horeb is because Israel has rejected their covenant with God. They have discontinued their worship of God. They no longer offer sacrifices to the Lord. They have killed God’s messengers. In other words, God I thought you would like to know how your people have been misbehaving! Lord perhaps you are not aware of what’s been going on. Your people don’t honor your words. Your people don’t come to Church. Your people are killing all the preachers. And Lord since I’m the only one still alive I thought I would come to your mountain where Moses talked to you and where You established the Covenant so I could tell you all about it!
By the way Lord they are trying to kill me too! See God knows your secrets. He searches the heart and the mind (Jeremiah 17:10). In essence God says to Elijah I can see you are deluded about why you are here. So let me show you something. Go out and stand on the mountain and I’m going to pass by.
There came a great and powerful wind. It tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord but God was not in the wind. After the wind had ceased there came an earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake. Then after the earthquake stopped shaking there came a fire but the Lord was not in the fire. Now the Lord had appeared in each of these phenomena before. Sometimes God can show us better than He can tell us!
God is exposing the fear and faithlessness in Elijah’s heart. Nature is obedient to God. The wind obeys Him. The earthquakes at His command. The fire burns with His permission. God is showing Elijah who is in control. Jezebel is not running anything. God is still sitting on the throne. But God is also showing him that you can’t predict the future based on the present! Just because something is loud and noisy doesn’t mean God is in it!
After these three great manifestations there was a still small voice or a gentle whisper. Elijah put his cloak over his face and went to the mouth of the cave and The Lord asked him the same question all over again! God has searched Elijah’s heart. Elijah is put out with the people he should be praying for! Elijah has given up on the possibility of things turning around. He says they have forsaken the covenant. They have torn down the altars. They have killed all the prophets. I am now all alone and they are trying to kill me too. Elijah’s heart is filled with fear, frustration, and revenge. Through this manifestation God showed Elijah how He deals with the people. God deals with Israel the same way He has dealt with Elijah. The Lord could have been in the wind, earthquake, or fire. But God choose to deal with Him in a gentle manner.
III.GOD SENT ELIJAH
1 Kings 19:15-18 “The Lord said to him, ‘Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel-all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.”
After the Lord strengthened Elijah and searched him it was time to send him back onto the battlefield. The Lord told him to go back the way you came. Your assignment want be as grand as it had been however it is still vital. I have three men I want you to anoint. Two kings and one prophet. They will finish the work I’ve started with you. You’ve had enough Elijah but relief is on the way.
By the way Elijah I have some people on reserve. I have seven thousand in Israel whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and mouths have not kissed him. Elijah you are not alone. There is a righteous remnant. The Lord is saying I have everyone I need. But you must go Elijah. You must get back into the game. You are not a failure. You are still useful to Me! You still have a purpose to fulfill. I know you’ve had enough but I can’t let you Quit! Elijah you have preached to others and I can’t let you become a cast away (1 Corinthians 9:27).
CLOSING
The Lord is in the sending business.
The Lord sent Elijah on a new mission.
The Lord sent Abram out of his country to land He would show him.
The Lord sent Moses back to Egypt.
The Lord sent Joshua into the land of promise.
The Lord sent Aaron to be by Moses side.
The Lord sent Gideon into Midian with three hundred men.
The Lord sent Samuel as a prophet.
The Lord sent David as a king.
The Lord sent Jonah to Nineveh.
The Lord sent Isaiah as a prophet.
The Lord sent John to make straight the way of the Lord.
The Lord sent Jesus to take away the sins of the world.
Jesus was sent to…
Not to condemn the world
But to save the world
Heal the hurting
Love the loveless
Forgive the fraudulent
Bear burdens
Open blind eyes
Cure the crippled
Destroy the works of the Devil
Recovery the lost
Cleanse the corrupt
Redeem the ruined
Bless the broken
Fulfill the Law
Teach the terrible
Satisfy the satiated
Assure the aggravated
Pay a penalty
Purchase a people
Build a Church
Unify Believers
I’m so Glad the Father sent His Only Begotten Son called Jesus of Nazareth!
There ain’t no salvation in any other name other than the name of Jesus!
Every knee will bow before Him and every tongue shall confess His Holy Name!
Jesus is everything to me!
Whenever I’m hungry, Jesus is my Bread
Whenever I’m lonely, Jesus is my Comfort
Whenever I’m stressed, Jesus is my Peace
Whenever I’m worn out, Jesus is my Rest
Whenever I’m downtrodden, Jesus is my Joy
Whenever I’m weak, Jesus is my Strength
Whenever I’m afraid, Jesus is my Assurance
Whenever I’m thirsty, Jesus is my living waters
Whenever I’m poor, Jesus is my Wealth
Whenever I’m empty, Jesus is my Supply
Whenever I’m storm-tossed, Jesus is my Anchor
Whenever I’m unsure, Jesus is my Confidence
Whenever I’m hurt, Jesus is my Healing
Whenever I’m falsely accused, Jesus is my Truth
Whenever I’m confused, Jesus is my Wisdom
Whenever I’m endangered, Jesus is my Protection
Whenever I’m staggering, Jesus is my Rock
Whenever I’m lost, Jesus is my Guidance
Whenever I’m restless, Jesus is my Trust
Whenever I’m broken, Jesus is my Repair
Whenever I’m tempted, Jesus is my Escape
Whenever I’m guilty, Jesus is my Advocate
Whenever I’m overwhelmed, Jesus is my Example
Whenever I’m in need, Jesus is my Help
Whenever I’m opposed, Jesus is my Courage
Whenever I’m in battle, Jesus is my Victory
Whenever I’m bowed down, Jesus my Hope
Whenever I’m bound, Jesus is my Deliverance
Whenever I’m wounded, Jesus is my Balm
Whenever I’m searching, Jesus is my Desire
Whenever I’m singing, Jesus is my song
Whenever I’m preaching, Jesus is my message
Whenever I’m praying, Jesus is my authority
Whenever I’m worshipping, Jesus is my God
