1 Kings 19:1-4

Up until this stage, as we have observed Elijah’s journey of faith, we have seen virtually no chinks in his armour. Every step has been a victorious one of trust and obedience, of courage and conviction, of daring and discipline. In fact it is hard to identify ourselves with such a man; he just doesn’t seem to have the struggles that the rest of us have. Praise God for 1 Kings 19! For here we discover the frailty of the man, the prophet Elijah intimidated by the threats of a woman. Now that’s something we can all identify with!!

This may sound a little bazaar, but for me some of the most encouraging stories in the Bible are the ones where God’s servants failed. Eg Abraham convincing his wife to lie, Moses killing an Egyptian and striking the rock, Jonah running from God, Peter disowning Jesus, Paul and Barnabas having a heated argument about John Mark. I find such incidents encouraging because they reassure me that no matter how much I fail I am still fit for the Master’s use. In fact what I have come to realize is that not only does God use failures, He will only use failures!! He has no time for the self-righteous who justify their weaknesses. He will only use those who admit their failings, who know that they are weak. Don’t hide your weaknesses, rather, boast in them. The Apostle Paul said, “So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me.” (2 Cor 12:9). Our weaknesses serve to remind us of our utter dependence on God.

Back to Elijah. Give him a stand-off against 450 false prophets any day, but the vile threats of a powerful woman and it’s “Asta lavista baby”. Why did Elijah run? Why was he overcome with fear at this point in life? Why did he hide from the threats of a woman when everything he had learned over the past three years told him that God could be trusted, God was in control? Here are several contributing factors that caused Elijah to be overcome by fear.

Elijah was not thinking clearly. He neglected to consider the source of the threat. Jezebel may have been an infuriated, hot-tempered, powerful woman, but she was no match for God. Elijah wasn’t thinking straight, instead of running he should have taken his insecurities to God in prayer and ask Him to compensate for them. He knew God’s sovereignty but acted according to his own frailty. Evaluate every uncomfortable reaction and every unsettling emotion against the backdrop of God’s sovereignty.

Elijah separated himself from those who could strengthen him. After running away for quite some time he chose to part company with his helper and carry on the journey alone. Discouraged people are lonely people. The word ‘encouragement’ literally means ‘to pour courage into someone’. Elijah separated himself from the one person who could strengthen him and encourage him. One of the best things he could have done was to stay with his trusted friend. When you feel discouraged don’t distance yourself from those who care for you. It is then that you need them the most!

Elijah was caught in the backwash of a great victory. As Chuck Swindoll says, “Our most vulnerable moments usually come after a great victory.” Perhaps Elijah thought himself bullet-proof. Perhaps he imagined that Jezebel would repent and bow to the Lord Almighty and that the entire nation would come to the Lord with deep remorse. Ultimately every individual needs to make their own mind up about God; Jezebel did and chose to fight. Elijah had his defenses down; he thought the battle was over. It never is! One of the greatest fallacies we face as western Christians is that we fail to appreciate the sinister forces that we war against. Read Ephesians 6 and you will discover that Paul commands us to remain alert, to stand firm and to never stop praying.

Elijah was physically and emotionally drained. In today’s language we might say that he was burnt out. There is a Greek proverb that says, “You will break the bow if you keep it always bent.” In other words, if you are living under constant, relentless stress, you’ll finally break under the pressure. You need time to rest and be refreshed. We live in demanding times. It seems that there are more demands placed on our time these days than at any other moment in history. We have lost the ability to be still and rest. Genuine refreshment is substituted by a high-energy drink we buy in a can on our way to work. I reckon that if God rested on the seventh day then it’s got to be a good idea.

Elijah got lost in self-pity. Self-pity cultivates a “victim mentality” in ones head. In the worst-case scenario this can lead to suicidal feelings. Listen to Elijah talking to God, “I have had enough Lord,” he said, “Take my life for I am no better than my ancestors.” Who ever said that Elijah had to be better than his ancestors? Not God, that’s for sure. In fact God never tells us to be better either. So if you are trying to live up to an unrealistic standard, be sure that God hasn’t set it. I am often saying to Christians that God doesn’t want us to try harder, He simply wants us to surrender, to come to Him and say, “God if you want me to be more like Jesus then you are going to have to do it.”

Elijah was frustrated with His failings and his own weakness, as a result he felt useless and only good for the grave. It is a pity that the book of Colossians wasn’t written in Elijah’s day. If it was he could have read these words, “As a result, he (Jesus) has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault” (Col 1:22). Yes, you read that correctly, “…without a single fault”.

(1 Kings 18:41-44)

Faith, simply put, is taking God at His Word. This is illustrated in John 4:43-50 where a royal official asks Jesus to heal his son. Jesus responds by saying, “You may go, your son will live.” And then we read, “The man took Jesus at his word and departed.” Faith is taking Jesus at his word. When God speaks you can take it to the bank, events will happen and promises will be fulfilled as he says they will. Elijah was a great man of faith, but he was also a man just like us. His trust in God was not always robust; it developed over time as he journeyed through life having to rely on God in such critical circumstances.

Well, the Mt Carmel crisis was over, God proved Himself to be God, the altar was lit and the 450 prophets of Baal paid for it with their lives. Isn’t this a little over the top, Elijah slaughtering 450 false prophets? Well, you need to realize that these men had convinced the nation that Baal was God. Their crime was not simply believing in a false religion, rather they were persuading the nation that the God of the Bible was either fictitious or impotent. The Bible is clear that there is a severity of judgment for those who deliberately lead others astray.

Now, back to Elijah, in verse 41 he tells King Ahab that he can go and enjoy a good meal for the drought is about to end. This might seem a little presumptuous considering that it was a cloudless day! But Elijah was convinced because of his faith in God. And so, while King Ahab prepared a feast Elijah went to prayer. You can tell a lot about a person by their prayer-life; Elijah provides us a great model to consider.

Firstly, Elijah separated himself; he went back to the top of Mount Carmel. Swindoll has this to say, “I’m convinced that one of the reasons we are so lax in prayer is that we have never prepared a place to meet with God. When you want to draw near to the heart of God, you have to get away from the din, away from the confusion, away from the noise and distractions.” Do you have a place like that? I personally have found that regular times of solitude does wonders for the soul and helps me redirect my life toward God and His purposes.

Secondly, Elijah humbled himself; he fell to the ground. Your most vulnerable moment is immediately after a great personal victory. It is then that you must recognize the one from whom all blessings flow. Humility is the only attitude that we can take to prayer. Prayer is an acknowledgement that we can’t cope, we are not in control and that we need help. Our Tuesday night prayer meeting is subtitled with these words, “Desperate people meeting with an infinite God.”

Thirdly, Elijah was specific; his words are not recorded for us but his command to his helper tells us that he was praying for rain. Be specific in your prayer life. Sometimes we are so vague in our prayers, “God bless us, God provide for us, God protect us.” God is our Father, He wants us to be up front and tell Him exactly what it is we need.

Fourthly, Elijah was persistent; seven times Elijah told his helper to look for clouds, six times the answer came back “Still no clouds Elijah”, but Elijah persisted. There are a couple of parables about prayer in the Gospel of Luke, one is about a man hammering away on his neighbours door in the middle of the night, the other is about a nagging woman petitioning a judge until she was satisfied. The principle is clear, keep at it until you have your answer.

And finally, Elijah was expectant; eventually a small cloud appeared in the sky, hardly the sign of a huge downpour, but Elijah was expectant that God was about to end the drought. Have you ever listened to the prayers of a child? Their faith knows no bounds. And they aren’t the least bit surprised when God answers. When we get older we loose that expectancy and that urgency and the anticipation that God is going to answer.

Can I encourage you all in your personal prayer life as well as corporate church-based prayer. Every Tuesday night the church gathers for prayer at Bethlehem College Chapel. Not surprisingly the over 50’s outnumber us younger ones by about 5 to 1. How about joining us and improving that ratio. We will never be the people and Church God wants us to be until such time as we have cultivated an attitude of prayer in our lives and in our Church.