1 Kings 19:1-18
Elijah and the prophets of Baal is one of my favorite accounts in the Bible. Elijah's boldness and how he takes on the world for God totally energizes me. But then, we get to 1 Kings 19 and Elijah has a complete meltdown. He gets a death threat from Jezebel, fear takes over, and things just spiral downward from there. Hmm....So now what? Well, what I see is that Elijah is human, just like you and me. And the cool thing about getting a look at Elijah's big "down" is seeing how God sticks right with Elijah and lovingly speaks with and encourages him to continue doing His (God's) work.
So have you had any Elijah experiences? How has God lovingly stood with you when you've been fearful, dejected, hurting, alone? Tami W.
I wonder how it felt to be Rueben who wanted to send his brother back to his father. Did he like the plan to sell Joseph?
God has also stood by me in my up and down times and especially now in my "down" time. He keeps encouraging me not to give up and to keep "talking" to Him, so I don't get discouraged,disillusioned. It's neat how he arranges alone times together-even in the middle of the night to just show me how much he loves and cares about me and that he will never leave nor forsake me. God is so good.
I find myself being like Elijah, sometimes strong in God's word and sometimes not. But, in the not times I find God was their all the time. THANK YOU GOD!
God has been awesome to me and the more I give Him thanks and praise - He hears me and sends His bountiful blessings on, not just me but my family and friends. He is worthy of praise and thanks and His mercy endures forever.
I must confess that God has been there for me in confusion, pain, substance abuse, addiction to idols, driving drunk and not knowing who I am, whose side I am fighting for or my purpose in life. There have been people in my life who I thought were friends but later realized they did not have my best interests at heart. I am now coming to grips with having to cut off these relationships which may be dragging me and others around me down with these abusers. I credit God with all that I have and give all thanks, honor & praise to Him! Thank you God!
I feel like Elijah in 1Kings 19, when I am sick in body. If I get sick it makes me feel good for nothing and wonder if the Lord is with me. I feel "whoa" is me. With much prayer I come to realize He never left. Oh happy day!
I often experience a painful valley immediately after a mountaintop experience. What fascinates me most about this account is two different things:
1. God arranges for us to be fed before a challenge. The bread and water were simple, humble, yet complete, nurishment. I need to "strap on my own oxygen mask" first, before I launch into a project.
2. All of the raging forces of nature occured outside the cave, yet none of their vastness and grandeur could contain God. Instead, after all the pageantry, a whisper sounded to Elijah's ear. Am I listening? When all hell crashes around me (or just a willfull toddler!) do I cower and wait for it all to pass and then say, "Whew!"? Or do I observe and marvel, then ... wait for the whisper, "I'm here for you to pour your heart out to right now in the quiet."?
My experiences have been pretty much the same as what Rich described, with similar outcomes. Like Rich, I had to submit myself to the Lord, and cut off a lot of bad relationships and habits that were bringing me down. The Lord has blessed me with a new outlook on life full of hope and promise, new, true Christian friends, and my health and marraige have never been better. Our God truly is awesome, and he knows we are weak, and he battles away the things that are trying to hurt us. All praise to the Lord, and I give thanks every day now for all the blessings he has and is giving me!
God has always been there bfor me when fear comes my way. I thanked God that fear is no longer my portion. Once I use to fear before but now I do no longer have the Spirit of fear but of boldness and soundmind and even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil. The Lord is my light and salvation whom shall I fear. These are the words I speak to myself whenever fear show up in my life. One thing I have realised through God's word is that: there is nothing lacking in it pertaining to the issues of life we face on a daily basis. All that is required is to act upon God's word. Thank you my Sweet Jesus the living Son of the living God.
Sometimes I find my faith being so strong like Elijah but when I hear or face some challenges I would like to throw the towel. But then I find out that God is really being faithful cause is always there for me through all the trials and temptation. THANK YOU LORD!!!