Hope at the Bottom pt 1

The bottom. Rock bottom. Dead man walking. No matter the phrase you use, many of us have been there. We are at the end or our means of our hope of your ability to go on. We are at our breaking point.

Stories of people at their final point of breaking are the things we make movies about and write books about. Ant that’s all good when it is someone else, and we are pretty sure the author is going to come up with a creative way to rescue the protagonist by the end.

But living it is hell. And it is no movie.

That’s why as 2026 starts I wanted to start at the bottom, where hope seems hard to find. Because in 2026 I hope you find God is many things, but one of them is our hope.

So this morning I want us to visit a guy who had just seen an amazing and mighty work of God who then gets the rug pulled out from under him. His name is Elijah- one of the most powerful prophets of ancient Israel. He was a prophet at one of their lowest points.

Ahab, a wicked king, and his wife Jezebel, who was worse, have taken the nation of Israel and turned them into a bunch of Baal worshipers. And God has responded by cutting of rain- all rain- and Ahab blames Elijah the prophest.

In a showdown to show who is really God in 1 Kings 18- the prophets of Baal are humiliated and killed. And Elijah, following God’s command, brings rain.

You would think this would be a great moment for Elijah. The false prophets are dead. God showed up in huge ways. The people of Israel are returning to God. But let’s pick up the story in 1 Kings 19:1-4.

Elijah runs.

Why?

He’s overwhelmed. He is tried. He is afraid. He is done.

1, 2 Kings (7) Elijah Flees Jezebel (19:1–8)

Jezebel has killed Yahweh’s prophets before (cf.

1, 2 Kings (7) Elijah Flees Jezebel (19:1–8)

For whatever reason—fatigue, lack of faith, or a sense of resignation at the prospect of never having peace—Elijah flees. He fears death the way Obadiah did (18:9–14). DeVries thinks “Elijah interprets Jezebel’s personal attack on him as the end of his ministry.”29 Indeed, the fact that he dismisses his servant in Beersheba, the southernmost point in Judah, then goes a day’s journey farther may indicate he has given up his ministry altogether

Ever been there?

You come out of a season of high stress and you make it thru. You see deliverance and you think you are home free and are ready to stop and enjoy the victory and then some Jezebel threatens to kill you.

Elijah is us. He runs.

And he tells God- just kill me now, I cannot do this I am just as bad as them.

I want you to know 2 things first of this morning.

God is not shocked by your weariness

God is not angry at your running.

Some folks have been taught for a long time that God spends most of His time angry at us and waiting to jump on ever little failure. Nothing could be further from the truth.

God loves you and He knows you cannot do it alone and that you are going to become weary even when you have seen Him deliver before.

He has not quit on you even when you are ready to give up.

Now look at verses 5-8.

First, please notice that Elijah rested.

There is NO glory in running on fumes. There is no glory in burning out. There is no glory in gutting through.

Rest is essential.

God thought so much of rest that He made it the 4th commandment. (Talk about the oddity of the Sabbath and its purpose)

When we refuse to rest we run the risk of hurting ourselves or others. (the essential need to rest when on a long uphill hike)

Second, he was fed.

Physical food and water are important. We cannot recover without nourishment. Physical nourishment.

1, 2 Kings (7) Elijah Flees Jezebel (19:1–8)

After “a day’s journey into the desert,” an exhausted Elijah says he wants to die, which, ironically, is the opposite desire to what he expressed by fleeing into the desert in the first place. Now God begins to renew his faith by miraculously feeding him. In other words, the Lord ministers to him as in the past. Twice an angel feeds him, thereby giving him strength to travel to “Horeb, the mountain of God

When we are at the bottom, people will often come and sit with us and bring us food or send us a Door Dash card to get food. Church that’s not just a nice thing to do it is an essential.

When we are at the bottom we can neglect our physical health to a point where we spiral. That’s not God’s plan. He is not bringing you to the bottom to destroy your body.

Eat.

And there is a spiritual metaphor here as well.

Where did this food come from? God.

He provided the food.

What about the perfect tree to rest under. That’s God too.

When we are at the bottom God will provide both physical and spiritual provision for us to be able to endure. To regain our strength. To rise and go on.

But we have to eat it. We have to rest. We have to read. We have to pray. God will provide the resources but He is not in the business of force feeding anyone.

Verse 8 says- he went in the strength of that food.

Elijah was STILL at the bottom (we will see how far down in a minute) but God had restored him to th point where he could carry on.

Recovery from the bottom is gradual. Once again this is not a movie.

But God is faithful.

Now go with me to verses 9-12a

Elijah pours out his heart to God.

I have been faithful

the people have killed all your prophets

I’m alone and now they want to kill me

1, 2 Kings (8) God Reassures Elijah (19:9–18)

He replies that Israel is apostate, they kill the prophets, and he alone stands for covenant faith. Again, he sees no real reason to continue. Apparently he had hoped that the Mount Carmel episode would produce a final victory over Baalism

Some things to note here. Elijah has been faithful. Even in the midst of all the hardships. He’s been hunted ever since the rain stopped.

And the people have killed the prophets.

But they do not want to kill him. Jezebel does. The people, when he left, were killing the Baalites and saying the God was God not Baal.

The bottom can really warp our perspective. Things may be really bad, but sometimes we start whispering stories to ourselves that just aren’t true- and then start to believe them.

Elijah has won a great victory. Lived through being hunted. Been given shelter and food. But he’s not focused on all that has gone on, he is focused on the current crisis.

I know for me, when I get in these fits of despair, and someone starts telling me all the things God has done for me before it can make me mad. I WANT to wallow. Dang it.

But when you start to listen, God breaks through.

Now look at what God tells Elijah- go stand outside I am coming by.

Wind and earthquake and fire. Elijah just stands there. He is so low he doesn’t even fear what is passing by that is destroying the landscape.

1, 2 Kings (8) God Reassures Elijah (19:9–18)

Elijah waits for God’s word through tearing wind, ground shaking earthquake, and roaring flame. The Lord does not speak, however, through these natural phenomena. Certainly Elijah has experienced God’s sovereignty over nature, and has benefited from miraculous fire, but what he needs now is a definitive word from the Lord

But look at the end of verse 12.

God whispers. And Elijah hears and comes to Him.

1, 2 Kings (8) God Reassures Elijah (19:9–18)

God speaks in a quiet voice here to a prophet drained of strength. The next passage will reveal still further the Lord’s willingness to labor with relatively limited human resources. Regardless of the meaning of the natural wonders, however, it is God’s word alone that will heal the prophet in this moment of crisis

Church in all the noise, when God calls your name you will know it and He will call you out of hiding to come to Him.

(Gospel presentation here)

And notice, what God says is not angry or accusing or disappointed. He just asks Elijah a question- Why are you here?

And Elijah gives God the same answer, but God’s response this time is different.

Once we have stopped focusing on the bottom, and God has our attention, God is going to show us the way out.

And the way out is through.

1, 2 Kings (8) God Reassures Elijah (19:9–18)

The Lord’s word to him reaffirms God’s uniqueness, his sovereignty over all nations, and the importance of the prophetic word. God tells him, “Go back the way you came,” a command that calls Elijah back into active service of the Lord

God is going to take what we see as the end of us and make it a new beginning.

Look at verses 15-18.

new kings

new prophet

new people

Elijah is not alone.

1, 2 Kings (8) God Reassures Elijah (19:9–18)

This command, coupled with the Lord’s comment that he has selected, or caused to remain, seven thousand persons who do not worship Baal, reminds Elijah that God’s word cannot be silenced. It remains the force that produces the remnant, protects the remnant, and empowers the remnant. As a part of this remnant, Elijah can expect God’s protection and empowerment

At the bottom, it is easy to be alone. And feel we are alone. But we are not alone. Others have been there as well.

(Invitation for people to share their stories of how God delivered them from the bottom during the series)

God is not done with you. He has not quit on you. He has not abandoned you.

He is calling you to rest in Him

To be refreshed by Him

To hear His voice

And to show you the way through