If there ever was a prophet who was burned out, it was Elijah. And it’s somewhat surprising that his most difficult time comes on the heels of the pinnacle of his ministry! Mt. Carmel had just happened—that amazing display of God’s power at just the right moment, followed by a downpour ending the three-and-half-year drought.
What happens next is astounding. Elijah basically runs the distance of a marathon leading Ahab’s horses back to Jezreel. Then, as he lies there exhausted, a note is delivered from an irate Jezebel promising to take his life. Distraught, Elijah gets up and, as the New International Version puts it, “ was afraid and ran for his life” (I Kings 19:3). After collapsing under a Broom bush, he cries out, “I have had enough, Lord. Take my life” (I Kings 19:4).
Have you ever found yourself spiritually discouraged? Have you been in a place where the joy in your service for the Savior slipped away? Perhaps someone who is reading this now is at a low point. How can you restore the first love you had when you were baptized and signed on for a life-long commitment of service to His cause?
Here are a few lessons from Elijah’s experience that may help with restoring the joy in your journey.
- Don’t expect hardships to go away until Jesus comes. Because of all that happened on Mt. Carmel, Elijah seemed to think everyone would repent and a lasting peace would come to Israel. Perhaps even Jezebel would be convinced to serve the true God. But then came her note, and when Elijah was confronted with evil fresh off the mountain experience, fear filled his heart. We must keep in mind that the devil is still desperately trying to bring doubt and discouragement to God’s people. We live in a broken world that simply won’t be right until Jesus comes.
- Make sure you are taking care of yourself. The first thing God does is let Elijah sleep. Then He sends an angel to feed him and encourage him to sleep some more. The angel comes back again with more nourishment and says, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” After his rest and food, Elijah once again feels like moving forward in his walk with God.
- Elijah heads to Mt. Horeb— the “Mount of God.” I love this part of the story. Even though his is distraught and confused, Elijah makes the long journey to Mt. Horeb because he knows he will encounter the Lord there. For us, the question is Where will we run to find our answers when we are discouraged? The world puts in front of us countless answers for lifting our spirits, but only the Lord’s path will satisfy our souls.
- When we are down, we tend to exaggerate our problems. When Elijah tells God, “I am the only one left,and now they are trying to kill me too” (I Kings 19:14) God gently reminds him that there are still 7,000 faithful worshippers. We need to be careful to not only think of all that is wrong but remember God’s blessing along the way, even in this broken world.
- God sends Elijah a friend; his name was Elisha. Elisha brought so much strength into Elijah. God knew just what he needed. I believe the Lord will also send people in our lives who will be able to help carry the load on our shoulders. I once heard this definition of a friend: Friends are the ones who walk in while everyone else walks out. People like this can bring amazing strength to our journey.
I would love to share some personal testimonies of how these lessons from Elijah’s story made all the difference for me in my journey of service for the Lord, but there is not space for it here. My encouragement to you is to remember that despite Elijah’s behavior after Mt. Carmel his journey on earth ended in a chariot ride to live with God in heaven.
God has great things in store for you, friend. Be of good courage and always remember the Lord never leaves you, no matter the circumstance.
