A Matter of Perspective

English Standard Version Chapter 18

41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. 43 And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. 44 And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’ ” 45 And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. 46 And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

Introduction

Clouds are funny things.

They come in all shapes and sizes.

Sometimes the shapes look like things we know.

Animals

People

Cars and boats

They can affect our day.

There are hot sunny days when we pray for clouds to bring some shade.

There a gloomy cold days when all you see are clouds.

When I moved to Germany for my first long-term mission service, it was overcast for three solid weeks!

Clouds can form on the ground, giving fog.

And, of course, clouds can bring rain.

I remember this one time when I was on a road trip. I was in my car, already an hour away from home, and it was a beautiful sunny day. But up ahead, I could see a small dark cloud. Within 20 minutes, that small cloud was a huge mass of blackness. The sun was completely blocked out. There was heavy rain. My headlights barely lit up a few feet in front of me. Cars were stopped all around me. I kept going, but it was at a crawling pace. It felt like forever before I reached the other side of that cloud, but then it was once again a clear blue sky for the rest of the trip. That huge black cloud was just a small speck in my rear-view mirror.

But through all of this, a cloud is a cloud. It’s just a big mass of water vapor.

In our lives, there are situations that come and go.

On the surface, they can seem good or bad.

Blessing or curse.

But appearances can be deceiving.

Struggles that we have gone through in the past turned out to be blessings in disguise.

Something that seemed amazing at first turned out to be a disaster.

Ultimately, a situation is like a cloud.

The circumstances can be difficult or pleasant.

But what really matters is how we respond.

Do we keep our attention on what is really important?

Do we let the situation take all our attention?

In , we read about how the king of Syria kept trying to capture the king of Israel, but every time he made a battle plan, God revealed the plan to the prophet Elisha, who would then inform the king of Israel.

The king of Syria found out, and sent soldiers to capture Elisha.

One morning, Elisha and his servant found their village surrounded by Syrian soldiers with horses and chariots everywhere.

Elisha’s servant was terrified by what he saw.

But what did Elisha do?

Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid, for there are more soldiers on our side than that are on their side.”

He prayed that God would open the eyes of his servant to see that God had sent a mighty angelic army to protect them.

The situation looked really bad, but Elisha didn’t lose faith.

His faith enabled him to see what God was doing in the middle of the circumstances.

Queen Esther had a life that seemed to be a dream come true on the surface.

She was the queen of the most powerful king in the region.

The Bible calls him a king, but he was more of an emperor.

But her story is not all that glamorous.

She was “gathered up” along with all the other pretty girls and forced to become part of the king’s harem.

She goes through this training to meet the king.

By God’s provision, Esther becomes the king’s favorite and is crowned the new queen.

But then Haman becomes offended by Esther’s uncle Mordecai and decides to destroy all the Jews.

Esther has to risk her life by going to the king uninvited in order to save her people.

Esther actually contemplates keeping her Jewish heritage a secret, but she decides to trust that God made her queen so that she could rescue her people.

King David was an example of someone whose life was a roller coaster.

He started out the youngest brother in a family of sheep herders.

Then the prophet Samuel anoints him to be the next king!

Then David is hired to play music for King Saul, and he becomes Saul’s favorite servant.

Then David is hired to play music for King Saul.

Then the Philistines invade Israel.

David defeats Goliath and becomes Israel’s hero!

He marries princess Michal.

He marries the princess Michal.

Saul becomes jealous of David and tries to kill him.

Tries to kill David.

Saul was hoping David would get killed.

David has to go on the run for several years, hiding in the wilderness.

David has to go on the run.

Saul dies in battle, and David is made king.

The Philistines are defeated, the Ark of the Covenant is returned to Jerusalem.

God makes a covenant with David to bring the Messiah through his bloodline.

Things are really looking good for David.

Then David sins with Bathsheba.

He has Bathsheba’s husband murdered so he can marry her.

The prophet Nathan rebukes David.

David repents, and things look good again.

David repents, and things look good again.

David’s children become rebellious. Absolom overthrows David.

Amnon rapes his half-sister Tamar.

Absalom murders Amnon and decides to take the kingdom from his father.

David gets his kingdom back.

One thing after the other. Up and down. Good and bad.

Throughout his life, David’s eyes were focused squarely on the Lord.

Early in his life, David’s eyes were focused squarely on the Lord.

Through good and bad, David kept turning to the Lord to see what God wanted.

He kept praising the Lord.

English Standard Version Psalm 6

O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,

nor discipline me in your wrath.

2  Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;

heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.

3  My soul also is greatly troubled.

But you, O LORD—how long?

4  Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;

save me for the sake of your steadfast love.

5  For in death there is no remembrance of you;

in Sheol who will give you praise?

6  I am weary with my moaning;

every night I flood my bed with tears;

I drench my couch with my weeping.

7  My eye wastes away because of grief;

it grows weak because of all my foes.

8  Depart from me, all you workers of evil,

for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.

9  The LORD has heard my plea;

the LORD accepts my prayer.

10  All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;

they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

Queen Esther

Queen Esther

When Elijah was praying for rain to come and end the years of drought, he kept sending his servant out to check the sky.

That servant kept coming back saying there was nothing, but Elijah didn’t give up. He just kept sending the servant out again, until finally a small cloud was found in the distance.

It wasn’t long until that cloud arrived, and it wasn’t some small cloud!

They got a mighty rain that healed the land.

In my own life, I can think of different times when it was hard to see what God was doing.

Times that I thought were the greatest failures at the time turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.

Instead of seeking the Lord, David began to react to the situation.

She was “gathered up” along with all the other pretty girls and forced to become part of the king’s harem.

There were times that it seemed I was just sitting on the shelf, but God was actually using me during those times and training me for work that he had in store for me on the mission field.

She goes through this training to meet the king.

Every time David RE-acted, things only got worse.

By God’s provision, Esther becomes the king’s favorite and is crowned the new queen.

When David turned his eyes back on God, he got his priorities right again.

If I had let those circumstances determine my future, I probably would have given up and walked away from God.

Things did not automatically get better.

But then Haman becomes offended by Esther’s uncle Mordecai and decides to destroy all the Jews.

But because I kept believing that God was faithful, He brought me through those circumstances, just like I came through those dark rainy clouds I told you about earlier.

Even though David and Bathsheba repented for their adultery, their first-born son still died.

Esther has to risk her life by going to the king uninvited in order to save her people.

Today, every person here is going through something.

That servant kept coming back saying there was nothing, but Elijah didn’t give up. He just kept sending the servant out again, until finally a small cloud was found in the distance.

If you’re not going through something now, you either just came out of something, or something is just around the corner.

In later years, David kept having to deal with people who were trying to steal his throne.

But David came to realize that, as long as God is still on the throne, He will take care of us through the storm.

There might seem to be an opportunity that looks amazing.

It wasn’t long until that cloud arrived, and it wasn’t some small cloud!

They got a mighty rain that healed the land.

English Standard Version Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

2  I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

3  For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

and from the deadly pestilence.

4  He will cover you with his pinions,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

5  You will not fear the terror of the night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

6  nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7  A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

There might be a disaster that seems to be unavoidable.

Regardless of what it is, you must remember to keep your focus on God rather than the situation.

Satan wants to use your circumstances to distract you from your relationship with God.

He wants you to think that things are going good so you don’t need God.

Or he will use bad circumstances to make you think God has abandoned you.

He will send people to make you feel ashamed or stupid for believing in God.

Just remember—circumstances are just temporary.

The bad times, no matter how long it may seem to be, will end.

The good times, no matter how much we want them to stay, will end.

Through it all, God is with you. He is faithful. And he wants you to trust him completely.