“What To Do When Your Faith Becomes Blah”
1 Kings Chapter 19
INTRODUCTION: I’ve intended to preach this sermon once a year. Since 1995, I’ve only preached it twice … each time a little different. BUT … it’s a message that ought to be preached every year.
Do you ever get to the point when your faith becomes “BLAH”? When it seems like your faith is DEAD … or DYING … or just SICK? It seems like God has forsaken you … OR … you have forsaken Him. You’re lonely … God seems so far away.
When this happens, you need REVIVAL. Not just a Revival SERVICE … an evangelist … a sermon … some more preaching. What we need is our own PERSONAL REVIVAL.
Sometimes we get the “Spiritual Blahs” … AMEN? It seems like nobody cares … like even God doesn’t care. It seems like everything’s going WRONG in our life. It seems like our faith … our Christianity … just isn’t working for us. Does anybody but ME ever feel this way? … Do I have a witness?
That’s the way Elijah, that great Prophet of God, felt. I think EVERYBODY has felt this way at one time or another. Maybe that’s how you’re feeling this morning. It usually doesn’t last very long. It’s not permanent (or shouldn’t be). There IS hope. BUT … you have this empty feeling inside … something’s missing in your life. You’re not sure what to do about it.
As a CHRISTIAN, we have a wonderful promise from God. Hebrews 13:5 – “I will never leave nor forsake you.” The ENGLISH translation doesn’t do this verse justice. “never” = a double negative = “never, no never”. “nor” = a triple negative = “never, no never, no never”.
Elijah was HUMAN, just like you & me. James 5:17 – “Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are.” Elijah had the “Spiritual Blahs”! Let’s take a look at what he had … AND … what God did about it.
1.- SYMPTOM #1 – Elijah Was Fatigued, Tired – 19:1
When we’re tired, we’re more prone to discouragement. Our resistance is low. Satan takes advantage of that.
“all that Elijah had done”. Elijah had just come from a number of “Mountain Top Experiences”. He had witnessed the mighty power of God first-hand:
• God fed him during a drought by having the ravens feed him.
• He saw God do a miracle at the widow’s house by providing a pot of flour & oil that wouldn’t run out.
• He prayed to God, and God brought the Widow’s Son back to life.
• He challenged the prophets of Baal, and saw God bring down fire from Heaven.
Elijah must have been feeling pretty good about himself … AND … about God. After the people slew all the prophets of Baal, Elijah ran back to Jezreel, to the palace of Jezebel, the wicked Queen. I think that he thought the people had killed her too. BUT … when he got there, he found Jezebel alive … as wicked & evil as ever … AND … as mad as fire! 19:2-3
What did Elijah do? He ran for his life! He didn’t ask God what to do … he didn’t pray about it … he just ran! I think ALL of us have just felt like running away from it all. That’s how Elijah felt … that’s what he did.
PRESCRIPTION #1 – God Provided For Him – 19:5-8
Elijah needed REST … and FOOD. Have you ever noticed that when you get the “Spiritual Blahs” … are DISCOURAGED or DEPRESSED … THAT … you can’t sleep … lose your appetite? God provided the juniper tree. God allowed him to sleep and get the rest he needed. God fed him … TWICE … by sending an angel to cook for him.
Isn’t God GOOD? God provided WHAT he needed … WHEN he needed it. There’s a LESSON in here for us. AND … it’s so simple. SOMETIMES … the REASON we get discouraged, depressed and beside ourselves … is because we need REST. Our plates are too full … our lives are too complicated … we’ve taken on too much … AND … we just need to go aside for awhile, and get some REST.
2.- SYMPTOM #2 – Elijah Was Lonely – 19:3 – “left his servant there”
What do you do when you’re discouraged? You crawl into a shell. You isolate yourself. You want to be alone in your misery.
What do you need more than anything else? A friend! Discouraged people are lonely people. Everybody needs a friend who can give them a transfusion of encouragement … a ray of hope … some love and understanding. The WORST thing we can do is to push our friends away. You’ve got friends … that’s what they’re there for. You would be there for them … WOULDN’T YOU? Don’t forsake your friends. This servant had been there for Elijah through thick and thin. NOW .. Elijah heads out on his own.
PRESCRIPTION #2 – God Provided For Him. See 19:19,21. When Elijah needed a friend, God gave him Elisha … to minister to him. Isn’t God GOOD? God provided WHAT he needed … WHEN he needed it. Don’t give up on God … He knows all about your problem, situation, and circumstances. He won’t ever leave you, nor forsake you.
3.- SYMPTOM #3 – Elijah Threw A Pity-Party – 19:4
Elijah said, “Lord. I’ve had enough! Let me die! I quit! This Prophet business isn’t what I signed up for … it’s not what it’s cracked up to be!”
Have you ever felt like doing the same thing? You’re TIRED … stressed out … worn to a frazzle … at the end of your rope.
• You’re already strapped financially … AND … then your car breaks down.
• Your kids are driving you crazy … you can’t wait for school to start! OR … you’ve raised them the best you know how … BUT … now they’re being rebellious or disrespectful.
• Your boss is making life difficult for you at work … over-worked and under-paid.
• Your family or friends have disappointed you … let you down.
• Your health is draining you physically, emotionally and financially.
Where are you on the “Happiness Scale” … from 1-10. Most of the time, we’re a 5-6. Sometimes we might even climb to a 7-8. Elijah is at a 1. Ever been there? What do you do? Probably the same thing Elijah did … throw a “Pity-Party”! When we run, run, run … AND … seem to get further behind … we get the “Spiritual Blahs”. “The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get.” … ever been there?
PRESCRIPTION #3 – God Provided For Him
Elijah found a tree in the wilderness (I prefer a Lazy-Boy) … sits in the shade … and prays to die! I never thought about this before this week. Who are the 2 people in the Bible who NEVER DIED? ENOCH was taken by God into Heaven without dying. ELIJAH – see 2 Kings 2:11. Elijah … the man who prayed for God to kill him … was taken by God into Heaven … ALIVE! He never died!
You see, God has a BETTER PLAN than we do! No matter how bad it gets, God is still in control. God has a plan … to see you through your discouragement … and do BETTER THINGS than YOU have planned for your life. Isn’t God GOOD? God provided WHAT he needed … WHEN he needed it. Don’t give up on God.
Elijah threw a Pity-Party. Ever done that? If you have, you’re in good company. Ever tell God that you wanted to DIE? So did Moses … Job … Jonah … even the Apostle Paul. While it may (or may not) be a sin to GET that way … it’s a sin to STAY that way. Don’t give up on God … He will never give up on you.
4.- SYMPTOM #4 – Elijah Exaggerated The Problem – 19:9-10
Isn’t that what we usually do when we’re discouraged? We do like Elijah did … he EXAGGERATED the problem. He told God that he was the only one in Israel left, who was true to God. AND … here he is … running away from it all!
Do you know the difference between a BIG problem and a LITTLE problem. The LITTLE problem is the one YOU have … the BIG problem is the one I have!
Elijah felt alone … isolated … like everyone has deserted him. It’s like that song in the children’s musical, “Down By The Creek Bank” – “Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I’m gonna go eat worms!”
Elijah is FOCUSED on himself … a symptom of discouragement & depression. He even mentions this TWICE to God … again in 19:14.
When we FOCUS on THINGS … on CIRCUMSTANCES … on PEOPLE … THEN … we take our focus off of God. AND … we let the circumstances, things, and people RUN and RUIN our lives. It means that we’re letting THEM have control over how we think, act and feel. That’s putting the power into THEIR hands, isn’t it? What happened when Peter took his focus off Jesus? He began to sink. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”
Elijah doesn’t have one word of praise for the juniper tree … for the cakes & water. When you take your eyes off God … you’ve got to put them somewhere else. You focus on you, your problems, and other people … AND … it just makes matters WORSE.
PRESCRIPTION #4 – God Provided For Him.
Look at what God did in 19:11-12. Isn’t God GOOD? God provided WHAT he needed … WHEN he needed it. Don’t give up on God.
WIND – When we’re overcome with problems, we want God to just blow them away, don’t we? “God, make them go away!” BUT … God didn’t do that. If you’re waiting for God to BLOW AWAY all your problems, you’ve got a long wait ahead. BUT … He DOES promise you the grace and strength to go through them.
EARTHQUAKE – If God won’t blow them away, MAYBE He will crumble them up into small pieces … bite size chunks. It didn’t happen … Elijah’s problems didn’t get any smaller. SOMETIMES, God has to keep our problems too big for us to handle … SO … we’ll turn them over to Him.
FIRE – Elijah saw God bring fire down on the prophets of Baal. MAYBE … God will just ZAP his problems and they will disappear in a puff of smoke.
What’s the problem here? Elijah is wanting a quick fix. He has seen God work in miraculous ways before … AND … he is expecting God to do it again.
There’s a LESSON here for us. God doesn’t always do the miraculous. We can’t dictate to God how we want Him to act.
• He doesn’t always HEAL us when we’re sick.
• He doesn’t always give us the winning Lottery Ticket when we’re hurting financially.
• He doesn’t always make our children into the obedient, loving, perfect children we want them to be.
SOMETIMES … USUALLY … God speaks to us in a “still, small voice”. Ps. 46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God.” SOMETIMES … USUALLY … God shows up in the quiet, routine things of life. If you are looking for the big, earth-shattering miracle … you’re probably going to be disappointed. INSTEAD … look for God to work in your life from WITHIN. The wind, earthquake, and fire were EXTERNAL. The “still, small voice” was INTERNAL. That’s where you’ll meet God! When you STOP … to LISTEN to Him.
WHAT did God tell Elijah, in that “still, small voice”? 19:15. God told him that He wasn’t finished with Elijah. He still had some work for him to do. That’s what God is telling you this morning … IF … you have the “Spiritual Blahs”. Your life isn’t OVER … it’s just the BEGINNING of a new phase.
What ELSE did God tell Elijah in that “still, small voice”? 19:18. God reassured him that he wasn’t alone. You can’t run from God. You can’t hide from Him. He’s in control. If you will just STOP, and LISTEN … God will give YOU the reassurance you need.
CONCLUSION:
God wants to ENCOURAGE your heart here this morning. Elijah saw himself as a FAILURE … BUT … God was keeping the books, not Elijah. When you’re going through the “Spiritual Blahs”, you feel like such a failure, don’t you? Just remember … “God don’t make no junk!”
God wants to encourage your heart here this morning. Jesus said, to the Christian, Rev. 3:20 – “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” CHRISTIAN, Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart … AND … in a “still, small voice” … He’s saying, “Let Me in … Let Me in!”
Open the door of your heart this morning … AND … let Him in! When you do, you will find the joy, peace, victory and fellowship that you’ve been looking for … for so long.
STAND – PRAY
OUTLINE FOR HANDOUT:
“What To Do When Your Faith Becomes BLAH!”
1 Kings Chapter 19
INTRODUCTION: Sometimes we get the “Spiritual Blahs”.
- It seems like our faith, our Christianity, just isn’t working.
- God seems so far away – Hebrews 13:5
- Elijah was human, just like us – James 5:17
1.- SYMPTOM #1 – Elijah Was Tired – 19:1
- Elijah had just seen God work in miraculous ways.
- He was disappointed that Jezebel was still after him – 19:2-3
- He didn’t pray about it … he just RAN
• PRESCRIPTION #1 – God Provided For Him – 19:5-8
- When our plates get full, we need to REST.
2.- SYMPTOM #2 – Elijah Was Lonely – 19:3
- Don’t push your friends aside … you need them.
• PRESCRIPTION #2 – God Provided For Him – 19:19,21
- God gave Elisha to minister to him … Don’t give up on God.
3.- SYMPTOM #3 – Elijah Threw A Pity-Party – 19:4
- Have you ever said, “Lord, I’ve had enough!”?
- “The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get.”
• PRESCRIPTION #3 – God Provided For Him.
- Elijah never died! – 2 Kings 2:11
- God has a better plan than you do … better things than you could have planned out.
- Don’t give up on God … He will never give up on you.
4.- SYMPTOM #4 – Elijah Exaggerated The Problem – 19:9-10
- He is focused on himself, his circumstances, his problem.
- When we do, we let them control us – Hebrews 12:2
- Don’t take your eyes off of God.
• PRESCRIPTION #4 – God Provided For Him – 19:11-12
- God didn’t speak EXTERNALLY - wind, earthquake and fire.
- Elijah wants a “quick fix” to his problem.
- God doesn’t always do the miraculous … He usually speaks in a “still, small voice” – Psalm 46:10
- You will meet God, when you stop to listen to Him.
- God told Elijah that his life wasn’t over – 19:15
- God told Elijah that he wasn’t alone – 19:18
CONCLUSION:
- You’re not a failure … Jesus is knocking at your heart’s door … listen to Him – Revelation 3:20 … Let Him encourage you.
