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Interesting story in 1 Kings about Elijah, the prophet. Elijah lays down a challenge to the prophets of Baal.

A show down, if you will between the God of Isreal and Baal. Who is the one true God?

Baal has 450 prophets. God has Elijah

Two alters, two sacrifices, Elijah even has the sacrifice to the Lord soaked in water three times.

God shows up and shows out, and the prophets of Baal are seized and killed.

GREAT VICTORY

Jezabel threatens to kill Elijah.

HOW DOES HE RESPOND?

Flees to the other side of the desert and asks God to kill him.

Vince Lombardi- “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.”

Elijah was wore out. He was burned out!

Paul talked about this in 2 Corinthians 1.

2 Corinthians 1:8–9 NASB95

8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;

The pressure of serving God had been so great that they were suicidal.

My contention with respect to both Elijah and Paul is this:

In the service of God, in fervent effort for God to be glorified, they took the pressure for God to succeed on their own shoulders.

They were not alone:

Charles Spurgeon wrote:

Knowing by most painful experience what deep depression of spirit means, being visited therewith at seasons by no means few or far between, I thought it might be consolatory to some of my brethren if I gave my thoughts thereon, that younger men might not fancy that some strange thing had happened to them when they became for a season possessed by melancholy; and that sadder men might know that one upon whom the sun has shone right joyously did not always walk in the light.

THIS IS NOT A PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE WAY OF ME TELLING YOU THAT I AM BURNED OUT.......

DON’T MISS THIS:

But if champions of the faith. Extraordinary men of God, in the service of God, and find themselves feeling exhausted, broken, depressed, and even suicidal. It should not be a surprise, that the stresses of daily life, especially when approached in an unbalanced way, can cause you to feel the same way.

Yes, Jesus said:

Matthew 16:24 NASB95

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

Matthew 11:28–30 NASB95

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Reset your priorities

God loves you

Psalm 139:14 NASB95

14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

John 3:16 NASB95

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

1 Corinthians 13:4–8 NASB95

4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.

Love God

Matthew 22:37–38 NASB95

37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment.

It is safe to love God, because He loved you first.

How: Know God

read the Bible with purpose: Who is God?

Pray! When something awesome happens, who do you want to pick up the phone and call first?

When trouble hits, who do you seek counsel and consoling from first?

When you are angry, who do you call and vent to first?

Obey! Jesus said that if you love him, you will keep his commandments.

Stay! Stay focused on His Glory, His Kingdom, His Purpose.

Matthew 6:33 NASB95

33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Love yourself: (implied)

Matthew 22:38–39 NASB95

38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

If you don’t love yourself enough to care for yourself, how do you treat others?

If you mistreat, despise, or harm yourself, and the comparison of how you are to treat you neighbor is how you treat yourself, what then is the pattern you use to treat others?

It is an implication that you love yourself:

Ephesians 5:29 NASB95

29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,

But we can love ourselves ignorantly: Loving yourself sometimes means saying no to yourself.

The word NO is not unloving.

Deny yourself: He was not telling us to neglect ourselves, but to deny the sinful lust that our bodies seem to crave:

How do we love ourselves?

Sleep/rest. Most people don’t get enough sleep. Cool, Quiet, Dark.

Remember the Sabbath. You need a day off. Take it.

Eat: Balanced healthy food, Healthy amounts.

Exercise: Control weight, Combats health issues, Improves Mood, Boosts energy, can even help with the physical aspect of your marital relationship.

If you don’t take care of yourself, you will not be about to take care of others.

Husbands: Love your Wife.

Ephesians 5:28 NASB95

28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;

Love your neighbors

Luke 10:30–36 NASB95

30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31 “And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 “Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 “But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 “On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”

James 1:27 NASB95

27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Be observant, Be proactive, Be persistent

It is still ok to say NO.

You say NO to yourself,

God tells us No

What about the kids?

Under age children:

Our purpose as parent of underage children is this: To prepare our children to be loving responsible adults.

Ephesians 6:4 NASB95

4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Proverbs 22:6 NASB95

6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 29:15 NASB95

15 The rod and reproof give wisdom, But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.

Proverbs 13:24 NASB95

24 He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

A successful parent is one that likes who their adult children have become.

Hebrews 12:6 NASB95

6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.”

Adult Children

Without a doubt, the relationship between parents and adult children has the biggest pitfalls and can produce the most heartache when it is out of balance.

I have seen parents lose their entire life savings, their health, their homes because of an adult child that took advantage of their “loving parents.”

The relationship between a parent and a spoiled adult child is also the most likely place you will find an unhealthy co-dependent relationship, right behind that of an abusive spouse.

Dependent: Two people rely on each other for support and love. Both find value in the relationship.

Codependent: The codependent person feels worthless unless they are needed by — and making drastic sacrifices for — the enabler. The enabler gets satisfaction from getting their every need met by the other person.

The codependent is only happy when making extreme sacrifices for their partner. They feel they must be needed by this other person to have any purpose.

Dependent: Both parties make their relationship a priority, but can find joy in outside interests, other friends, and hobbies.

Codependent: The codependent has no personal identity, interests, or values outside of their codependent relationship.

Dependent: Both people can express their emotions and needs and find ways to make the relationship beneficial for both of them.

Codependent: One person feels that their desires and needs are unimportant and will not express them. They may have difficulty recognizing their own feelings or needs at all.

It is OK to say NO.