Fear after victory

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever experienced something you had been praying for..

Something you had been working toward...

Something you thought would finally make everything better...

And then afterward, you were surprised by how you felt?

You got the promotion.

You finished the project.

Your child graduated.

You made it through the crisis.

The prayer was answered.

The treatment worked.

The relationship survived.

And you thought:

Once I get through this, I’m going to feel so much better

But then you got through it...

And you didn’t.

That can be confusing

Because we tend to believe:

If God just gets me through this, I’ll never be afraid again.

But that’s not how fear works.

And Elijah is about to discover that.

TENSION

1 Kings 18 is one of the greatest spiritual victories in the Old Testament.

Elijah stands on Mount Carmel

On one side is Elijah.

On the other side are the prophets of Baal.

Elijah is dramatically outnumbered.

And God shows up.

Fire falls from heaven.

1 Kings 18:36–39 “At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.” Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!”

This is the moment Elijah has been waiting for.

Revival

Victory

Vindication

Mountaintop

And then...

We turn one page.

1 Kings 19:1–2 “When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.”

How do you think Elijah responds to this message

He just stood against hundreds of prophets.

He just watched fire fall from heaven.

He just experienced the power of God.

He just watched an entire nation acknowledge God.

1 Kings 19:3 “Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.”

One threat.

One woman.

One moment.

And Elijah falls apart.

TRUTH

Yesterday’s faith doesn’t eliminate today’s fear

Spiritual victories don’t make us immune to fear

You can trust God deeply...

and still become afraid.

You can experience God’s faithfulness… and still become overwhelmed.

You can have incredible faith on Sunday...and struggle on Monday.

Elijah gets so low that he sits underneath a broom tree and says:

1 Kings 19:4 “Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”

But watch what God does next

God doesn’t:

Lecture him.

Shame him.

Condemn him.

Question his faith.

Say, Elijah! Seriously? Did you already forget Mount Carmel

Instead...

God lets him sleep.

Then an angel wakes him up and says:

Get up and eat.

Elijah eats. And then...

He goes back to sleep.

Before God gives Elijah a sermon...

God gives Elijah a snack and a nap.

Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is rest

Because sometimes what feels like a spiritual crisis is being amplified by physical exhaustion.

APPLICATION —

Don’t confuse exhaustion with abandonment.

Maybe you’re exhausted.

You’ve been fighting.

You’ve been carrying something.

You’ve been taking care of everybody.

You’ve been praying.

You’ve been serving.

You’ve been holding your family together.

And somewhere along the way...

You started interpreting your exhaustion as evidence that something was wrong with your faith

But look at Elijah.

God doesn’t shame exhausted people.

He cares for them.

He feeds Elijah.

He lets him sleep.

He strengthens him.

And only then does He begin speaking.

Eventually Elijah reaches Mount Sinai.

1 Kings 19:9 “There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Then comes:

The wind.

The earthquake.

The fire.

But God isn’t in them

Then comes...1 Kings 19:12 “And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.”

A gentle whisper.

Maybe that’s what Elijah needed.

He had already seen the power of God in front of many

He needed to know the presence of God when its just him

Are you free to rest?

You might be missing God because you are exhausted