In 1 Kings 18, we are told about Elijah’s “mountain top” experience. He had challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest and had won! It had been decided that each would place a sacrifice upon the altar and pray to his God. The God who answered by sending fire from heaven upon the sacrifice would be recognized as the true God. Baal never responded to the cries of His prophets, while Yahweh immediately answered the prayer of Elijah. Consequently, revival broke out as all the people shouted, “The Lord - He is God!” Elijah then led the people to execute the prophets of Baal. It was indeed, a great spiritual victory!
But as is often the case with any great victory of God that we have in life, Elijah faced opposition in the person of queen Jezebel. Who, after hearing the news from her husband, king Ahab, decided that she was going to try to get rid of this “trouble maker” once and for all (19:1-2)!
Elijah ran for his life, ending up in the desert, where he sat down beneath a tree and told God to take his life, because he was sick and tired of being sick and tired (19:3-5a)! An angel of the Lord ministered to Elijah, giving him food to eat. Like most depressed individuals, Elijah just wanted to sleep, but the angel insisted that he journey to mount Horeb, the mountain of God, because it was there that God had appeared to Moses in the burning bush. God wanted Elijah to seek Him. That’s why He sent the angel.
Likewise, God wants us to seek Him when we are in times of discouragement or depression. The food the angel gave strengthened Elijah for the journey. When he arrived, he found a cave and crawled inside (19:5b-9a). There in that cave, Elijah continued to wrestle with his feelings of discouragement. But God was also there in that cave of discouragement, and He called to Elijah (19:9b-18).
Have you ever struggled with feelings of discouragement?
Just as God’s voice called out to Elijah on this occasion, His voice calls to us in our times of discouragement. From this story we learn that in our times of discouragement, God’s voice calls to us . . .
1. To Remind Us That We Are Not Alone - vs. 13-14; 18
Often, in times of discouragement, we feel like we are all alone in our struggles.
At those times, God’s voice calls to us, encouraging us to . . .
A. Look For His Presence - vs. 13-14
God’s presence was made known to Elijah through a “gentle whisper” or, as the King James Version puts it, a “still, small voice.” God wants us to know that in times of discouragement, He is with us, speaking to us, seeking to encourage us with His presence and love.
In verses 11-12, we are told of how a great wind blew over the mountain, followed by an earthquake, then a fire, but the Lord was not in these things. Instead, His presence was found in a “still, small, voice,” and “gentle whisper.”
What was God trying to teach Elijah? He wanted Elijah to know that God is always with His children, even though they may not see any outward manifestation of His presence! Even in those times when you may think you are all alone in your feelings of discouragement and that others have forsaken you, God has not and will not abandon you.
Do you know why animal trainers carry a stool when they go into a cage of lions? They have their whips, of course, and their pistols are at their sides. But invariably they also carry a stool. It is the most important tool of the trainer. He holds the stool by the back and thrusts the legs toward the face of the lion. The lion tries to focus on all four legs at once. And in the attempt to focus on all four, a kind of paralysis overwhelms the animal, and it becomes weak and disabled because its attention is fragmented.
Rather than getting bogged down in “the paralysis of analysis” we need to turn our focus from all the things that are preoccupying our troubled mind and focus, instead, on seeking the presence of the Lord. In pursuit of that one thing, we will then find peace.
“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” - Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)
Like Elijah, we need to turn aside from all the things that are distracting us to seek God in times of discouragement. As we do, we will be able to sense and be comforted by His presence in our lives.
B. Look To His People - v. 18
Elijah was told that he wasn’t alone in the struggle! There were 7,000 others who had not bowed the knee to Baal either! 7,000 others who were facing the same tests, trials, and struggles that had discouraged Elijah.
Likewise, in our times of discouragement, we need to realize we are not alone. Not only is the Lord with us, but there are others who are struggling with life, just like we are. We need to find comfort in their fellowship and seek to be encouraged by from our fellow pilgrims!
“Two are better than one, because they have a good [more satisfying] reward for their labor; For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” - Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (Amplified)
“Satan watches for those vessels that sail without a convoy.” - George Swinnock
“Satan always hates Christian fellowship; it is his policy to keep Christians apart. Since union is strength, he does his best to promote separation.” - C.H. Spurgeon
Too often, Christians withdraw from fellowship with other believers during times of discouragement, when that is one of the most crucial times to be with God’s people. When it comes to overcoming discouragement, there is strength in numbers! You are not alone! Seek out the encouragement that can come by engaging with God’s people.
2. To Remind Us That We Are Not Through - vs. 15-17
As we respond to God’s call, He can lead us from discouragement to being encouragement! God works in times of discouragement to . . .
A. Restore Our Place In Our Walk With Him - v. 15a
In his encounter with God, Elijah was repeatedly asked, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah was obviously not where he was supposed to be! That’s why God told him, “Go back the way you came.”
When we fall prey to discouragement, it is often because we have gotten out of step in our walk with God. Instead of allowing Him to lead us, we take off on our own, like Elijah (v. 3a).
Instead of standing firm in faith, Elijah fled in fear! One cannot be fearful and faithful at the same time! To be fearful is to be faithless, but to be faithful is to be fearless. Whether I am overwhelmed by fear or overcoming by faith, depends on whose “calling the shots” in my life.
Elijah had done well with respect to listening to God and following His lead up until verse 3, where all of a sudden, instead of responding by faith as he looked to God for leadership, Elijah reacted by fear, as he look for Jezebel to “lop off his head.”
The line for tickets to the football game wound clear around the stadium. A late arrival tried to push his way to the front of the line. A burley fan who’d been waiting for the gate to open all morning growled at the man and heaved him to the back of the line. A second time, the man tried to edge his way into the front. Again, he was tossed back by the waiting fans. After he was tossed back the third time, the late arrival picked himself up and said, “If you don’t stop throwing me out of line, nobody’s getting in today. I have the key!”
We often experience defeat and discouragement because we have gotten out of place in our walk with God, which means that we have removed Him from His proper place of being at the head of the line. When we do that, we keep ourselves from entering into the joy, the
victory, the blessing we seek, because He alone has the key to open up the way for us. We need to “go back the way we came,” and return to a relationship with God where He leads and we follow!
B. Accomplish His Purpose In Our Work For Him - vs. 15b-17
God told Elijah that if he would go back to that place where God was once again “calling the shots” in his life, he would find that the Lord still had things for him to do!
Likewise, no matter what you’ve encountered that has led you down the road to defeat and discouragement, if you will get back to the place where God is leading you again, you will find that He still has a purpose in mind for you and that He has a work for you to do!
In life, people are striving for one of three goals: Survival, Success, or Significance. When we are discouraged, we are focusing primarily on survival. We are often discouraged because we have pursued success and believe we have failed. What God wants us to see, however, is that He wants to give us a life of significance, which is possible, even if the world says we haven’t achieved success and even if the world sees to it we don’t survive!
Conclusion: Don’t let the devil have his way in your life through discouragement. God’s voice is calling to you in your time of discouragement! Look for His presence, look to His people! Return to your proper place in your walk with Him and rediscover His purpose for your life!
