Serving God When We Are Down

Happy New Year! I know that it is too early to tell how this year is going to go. These last two years have been pretty rough on everyone. In everything that has gone on in 2020 and 2021, did you ever get to the point where you just felt burned out or ready to give up?

That's what today's message is about. Through the end of October and into November we have been looking at the life of Elijah the prophet. Today we're going to look at a phase of his life as he learned that he could serve even when he was discouraged.

Prayer

I am not a golfer but this beginning story leads us into today's message. Back in May, 2016, 28-year-old Australian golfer Jason Day won the players championship tournament on the Stadium course in Florida. He was the first winner that led in every round in 16 years. His victory that day over the best golfers in the circuit established his number-one ranking in the golf world.

But once he got that number one spot, he began to flounder. He never won again in 2016, and not at all in 2017. In 2018, he said, “I got burned out being number one. It's easy to get burned out in a position that you're in the spotlight for. It can be demanding at times.”

His story sounds a lot like Elijah's story in 1 Kings 19. Elijah had just come off a spectacular victory against the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. But after this fantastic victory, Elijah stumbled into deep discouragement. It is how God met him in that moment that can inspire all of us that find ourselves burned out and ready to give up.

As we think about all we have gone through these past couple of years, I can't help but think of what the apostle Paul said in:

Philippians 3:13 – “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead.”

If you are discouraged in any way as you look back over the past 2 years, let's see if God can’t inspire us to serve Him even in our discouragement. Let’s get into our story.

Elijah had just won a great victory at Mount Carmel. Shortly after that Elijah led the slaughter of the 450 prophets of Baal to rid the land of the idols’ influence. Then he warned King Ahab to get ready for the rain God was about to send to end the three-and-a-half year drought.

As chapter 18 closes, God sent a downpour, validating Elijah's bold faith. On that day, Elijah could be considered to be the number one prophet. Elijah was at the pinnacle of his prophetic ministry. He was fearless against an overwhelming majority, even defying wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. He was at the top of his game. But then Jezebel enters the picture once again.

1 Kings 19:1-5 – “Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods punish me and do so severely if I don’t make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow!”

3 Then Elijah became afraid and immediately ran for his life. When he came to Beer-Sheba that belonged to Judah, he left his servant there, 4 but he went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, “I have had enough! Lord, take my life, for I’m no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree.

Suddenly, an angel touched him. The angel told him, “Get up and eat.”

Now after an all-time high, we find Elijah at a low point. Jezebel had made it known that she was seeking to take his life. It had been three and a half years of drought and hiding. The rain had stopped and restarted just as Elijah had prophesied.

Even though Elijah previously had won decisively over the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel, Baal worship wasn't gone, and Jezebel was still threatening his life. This wasn't the outcome that he expected. After traveling to the wilderness outside of Beer-Sheba, Elijah said, “I've had enough. Lord, take my life, for I’m no better than my ancestors.” Elijah was discouraged. But God had a bigger plan than Elijah could have imagined. God wasn't done with Elijah. God would meet Elijah at his lowest point to show him just that.

This should remind us that no one is invincible. Think of all that Elijah had experienced at this point in his life. He had withstood opposition, rejection, and danger. He had prophesied God's truth to a people who had fallen away. He had left home and relied on God for sustenance. But this news of Jezebel's threat to kill him sent this prophet of God into a tailspin of fear and despair. He took off, running for his life. Apparently, Israel's number one prophet was quitting his ministry. He leaves his servant at one point. Now alone in the wilderness, he plopped down under a broom tree for shade and prayed to die.