You Can Conquer Discouragement!
Glorious days
It’s often said that life is filled with
peaks and valleys. The Prophet Elijah found himself on the highest of spiritual
peaks in 1 Kings 18, when he, with God’s backing, took out the entire
priesthood of Baal with one miraculous blow. After calling fire down from
heaven, Elijah had the false prophets destroyed, crushing the pagan religious
system of Ahab and Jezebel.
Immediately afterward, Elijah sprinted 15
to 20 miles across the valley of Jezreel (1 Kings 18:45-46). Here again, with
miraculous help from God, he actually outran Ahab’s chariot. As
exhilarating as this must have been, Elijah must have been physically
exhausted. And after battling the entire priesthood of Baal, he was surely
drained mentally and emotionally as well.
Selling
you to the enemy (Satan’s torment)
When Ahab returned home,
he told his wife Jezebel all that had transpired. Seething with rage, she
sentenced Elijah to be executed within 24 hours (1 Kings 19:1-2).
Notice how this great
prophet responded: “And when he saw that,
he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to
Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the
wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for
himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my
life; for I am not better than my fathers” (verses 3-4).
Elijah became so despondent that he wanted
to die! It’s almost hard to believe the mighty prophet of 1 Kings 17 and 18 is
the same as the man in chapter 19, wallowing in weariness and self-pity. What
happened? He had been worn down. But the big problem was that he got his mind
off the work and onto Jezebel’s
license to kill. As soon as Elijah lost his spiritual focus, everything went
downhill—and fast!
Keep focused
What a lesson for us! We
might win a number of battles, but until we win the war, we must keep fighting every
day. We must keep our focus on the soon-coming Kingdom of God.
Jesus said, “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life,
and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:14). The way of a Christian is
not the “easy way”—the popular, broad road. That road, Jesus said,
actually leads to destruction. The road we tread is oftentimes narrow, rutty,
bumpy and difficult. Few have been willing to travel it—but it leads to
success, usefulness, happiness and eternal life.
God mercifully, lovingly
prodded Elijah to re-align his spiritual focus. He sent an angel to
supernaturally provide him physical sustenance (1 Kings 19:5-8). After the
meal, Elijah started a 40-day fast, during which God directed him back to Mount
Horeb, where Israel’s history began.
He came to a cave, and
God spoke to him there, saying, What is the cause of your trouble? What is
bothering you? (verse 9). God let Elijah express himself and explain what
he was discouraged about. God listened to Elijah, just like He listens to us.
Elijah was still
wrestling with his woe is me attitude (verse 10). Jezebel had
undoubtedly killed off the remaining prophets of God, which must have added to
his worries. God had just used Elijah to wipe out Jezebel’s pagan religion as
well—but Elijah had practically forgotten. He got his mind on himself and
lapsed into faithlessness. How easy it is, even after obtaining our greatest
victories, for us to focus on the negative.
And so God proceeded to
help Elijah get his mind back on God’s power and might (verse 11). God reveals
Himself in a variety of ways. He’ll use His awesome power when necessary, but
He generally comes with a “still small voice” (verse 12).
Even when there are no obvious, visible
miracles, God is still God! That’s what God wanted Elijah to realize. You
must get your relationship with Me back to the way it should be, God told
him. Get your mind off the trial and back onto Me!
Turn to God
When you face discouragement, don’t let
your mind dwell on the Jezebel obstacle in front of you. Get your mind on God and His work.
When Elijah slipped into
the worst discouragement of his life, God strengthened him with food, drink and
rest. He let Elijah express why he was discouraged. Though Elijah’s thinking
was off, God listened and empathized. Elijah also did his part: He started a
fast. Even as he vented, he had to have known that his attitude was negative
and selfish. He turned to God for help. And after all this interaction with
God, what did God instruct him to do? Get back to work. From here,
Elijah went on to ordain Elisha, whom God would use to finish the work Elijah
began (verses 15-17).
The key to overcoming discouragement is to
get our minds off ourselves and onto the power and might of God. Turn to God in
humility, with prayer and fasting. Then get back to work. Concentrate on
serving God and doing God’s work.
Don’t give up
Proverbs 24:16 says, “For
a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again ….” It’s easy to think that
only the unjust or unrighteous trip up and become despondent and negative. Here
God says the just man falls seven
times!
But he also gets up—he
doesn’t give in to Satan. He keeps battling! He never gives up!
The ability to overcome
negativity and discouragement is something God wants us to master. Life is full
of trouble. That’s because this life is a training ground! God is preparing us
for eternal life in His ever expanding royal Family!
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this
present time,” Paul wrote, “are not worthy to be compared with
the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). ▪ Amen!
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