Don't Give Up! Look UP!

Don’t Give Up!

I don’t know about you… but I find myself running on empty sometimes, and just want to sit in a corner and do nothing. I find my own broom tree and sit under it. If you don’t understand that analogy I will teach you this through Elijah’s story today.

I don’t think I am unlike many other people. We are all human… we get run down, and at times we just want to give up. Life can be really hard! Am I the only one that feels this way?

What we read today encourages me in my times of laying under the broom tree. Elijah as we read last week was a great man of faith and trust in God. Remember in Chapter 18 of 1 Kings we read of Elijah first off going to meet King Ahab face to face and give him a message from God. That there would be a drought, and the delivery of this message many would fear because King Ahab was a ruthless. Scriptures tell us that he was worse than all the kings before him.

[1Kings 16:30 NKJV] 30 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who [were] before him.

Then after giving Ahab this message from God, Elijah proceeds to challenge all the prophets of Baal to see whose god is best. The god of Baal, or Yeshua the God of Israel. He then defeats them miserably and all the prophets of Baal are killed by the sword.

Now we pick up with Elijah in 1 Kings 19:1 with the upcoming problem. Ahab informs Jezebel what has happened. Turn with me to 1 Kings 19.

The Problem

[1Kings 19:1-2 NLT] 1 When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. 2 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."

So, Ahab goes home to his wife Jezebel, and tells her the whole story of what Elijah did and how God heard his prayers and answered in an awesome way by smoldering all the sacrifice and even the stones on the alter.

Jezebel’s response is one of complete anger and hatred. And she sends a messenger to Elijah who delivers her message which was a death threat. May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them! Wow! Ahab just told her how poorly her gods did against Yaweh. But here she is giving a death threat to the prophet that the power of God was demonstrated.

So, here is the problem. What does Elijah do? Let’s find out in verse 3.

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

He runs! Elijah had just finished an extraordinary feat in being the first in line to experience the full power of God before 450 prophets of Baal. And this one person for whatever reason made him run in fear. Elijah shows us his ordinary side, he is not unlike us. Remember last week in James 5:17:

[James 5:17 NKJV] 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.

We see the ordinary man of Elijah come out. In chapter 18 he was looking at his circumstance before him in faith and through the eyes of God who was before him. He had faith and ignored what his natural eyes see.

In chapter 19 all the sudden the tides change and Elijah now let’s the circumstances of Jezebel get him out of alignment with God. He no longer looked at his circumstances in front of him through the eyes of God in faith. Doubt set in… doubt is a big problem for many of us. Doubt is that little message that Satan plants in our ears “You are not good enough!” and the result can be we get out of alignment with God, And we look for a broom tree.

I love how God shows us this side of Elijah. We see this as well with other great men of God. Look at Noah:

[Hebrews 11:7 NKJV] 7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

Noah was building an ark in the middle of nowhere with not a lake or a river that could possibly set sail to such a large boat like he was building. He maintained his effort on this boat for over 100 years. Then the rains finally came and God used him in great ways. He is in the men of faith hall of fame in Hebrews 11.

But Noah was far from perfect. Even though a great man of faith he had his faults. Turn with me to Genesis 9.

[Genesis 9:20-21 KJV] 20 And Noah began [to be] an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: 21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

So, Noah loved his wine. How about Abraham what a great man of faith again who made it to the Faith Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11:

[Hebrews 11:8 NKJV] 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Abraham heard God tell him to go, and he just picks everything up and goes without knowing anything about where he was going. Yet when he was entering Egypt in Genesis with his wife Sara, he shows his weakness. He gets out of alignment with God. Turn with me to Genesis Chapter 12. Remember at this time his name was not Abraham yet it was Abram, and Sara was Sarai.

[Genesis 12:11-13 NKJV] 11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Indeed I know that you [are] a woman of beautiful countenance. 12 "Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, 'This [is] his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 "Please say you [are] my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you."

Abraham gets out of alignment for this moment and it causes a problem for him. But regardless of his mistakes God used him in great ways.

Elijah now runs from Jezebel, (Show Map)

He runs to Beersheba and then goes another day by himself into the wilderness. He goes to find a broom tree and lays under it and asks God to take his life. He is done.

(Show Picture of Broom Tree)

[1King 19:3-4 NLT] 3 Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. 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."

He finds his broom tree and has a little party all by himself… a pity party. I am done take my life I have nothing left to live for. God uses these great men as examples to follow and warnings. The warning to keep our eyes on Jesus. Don’t give up!

The Warning

See we can take this to heart as a realization that even great men like Elijah have moments when they are low in the valley of depression. God can use you in your imperfections just like He used Elijah, and Moses, and Noah, and Ruth, and so many others. Elijah was a man yet God showed His great power through him. Abraham was a man and showed his fear in the when entering Egypt even though he had nothing to fear. Noah built a HUGE ark with his small family and took him 100 years! No rain, no water, nothing! Yet he was a man and drank too much!

Elijah takes his eyes off of God and runs to a broom tree to and asks God to let him just die.

That is the warning we get in all this. See God will use each and everyone of us in extraordinary ways. But He cannot do this if we don’t focus on Him. If we take our eyes off of God, we will lose our hope quickly because Satan will most definitely plant the seed of doubt in our minds. As soon as we get out of alignment. See when we are out of alignment that is when we can hear Satan because we have not spent time with God to hear His words.

Each of these men with the struggles of life just like we do. God tells us in His word that there is nothing that will tempt us that is greater than any other man or woman has ever experienced in the history of the world. Nothing!

[1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV] 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God [is] faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear [it].

See God’s answer is that with must maintain our faith. Keep our eyes on Him and he will show us a way out. Don’t go looking for your own broom tree and feel sorry for yourself, this is where Satan wants to find you and whisper doubts in your ears!

Instead read, pray and praise our awesome God! He will show you a way out. He showed Abraham a way out… He showed Noah… and He can surely show each and every one of us too. Trust him… don’t give up on Him… You can be assured He will NEVER give up on you.

Elijah is now under the broom tree sleeping. I love this as the example of Jesus’s words when one of His sheep is lost in Luke:

[Luke 15:4 NKJV] 4 "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

The Answer

God goes to find his sheep in the wilderness under the broom tree. Read with me 1 Kings 19 again:

[1 Kings 19:5-7 NLT] 5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, "Get up and eat!" 6 He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 Then the angel of the LORD came again and touched him and said, "Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you."

God sends an angel to Elijah. God found His lost sheep and sends an angel to feed him.

Elijah is sleeping, and I know that if God thought he needed sleep He would have let him rest. But the angel touches his shoulder and wakes him up. Get up and eat. Then Elijah lays down again, and the angel comes a second time… Get up and eat… you have a long journey.

Now he eats the second time and then sets off on a long journey:

[1 Kings 19:8 NLT] 8 So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God.

(Show Map)

Those two meals had to last him 40 days and nights for the journey he took. God wanted to talk to Elijah, and He wanted him to be with Him on Mount Sinai… God’s mountain.

I remember when I was a kid and I got in trouble. My mom would say “Wait till your father get’s home”. Man… those were words that would haunt me all day…Elijah was called to go see God in Mount Sinai. I think he might have felt like I did all afternoon for 40 days. Thinking about… What am I going to say? What is my excuse? Trying to justify his actions.

This is one of my favorite things about this when Elijah meets with God.

[1 Kings 19:9-10 NKJV] 9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD [came] to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 10 So he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."

God comes to Elijah in his sleep in the first night. What are you doing here! I kind of laugh a little and in my head I hear “What are you doing here Elijah David Jackson! We all know what it is like to get the FULL name from your parents!

Now Elijah comes up with some silly excuse for taking his eyes off of God and running. I am the only one listening to you anymore, and these bad people have destroyed Your altars and Your prophets and now they are going to destroy me too. I had to run! Now God gets serious… Look at His next words to Elijah in 1 Kings 19:

[1Ki 19:11-14 NKJV] 11 Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, [but] the LORD [was] not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, [but] the LORD [was] not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, [but] the LORD [was] not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 13 So it was, when Elijah heard [it], that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice [came] to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 14 And he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."

Elijah now hears the calming voice of God. It was not the terrifying wind strong enough to break rocks, or the earthquake that shook the mountain, and not the fire that burned around him. It was a gentle whisper from His God. God hears his fears and depression in his explanation. But there are things Elijah did not know. God reveals to him the plan once he got back in alignment. God give him directions on the things that Elijah needs to do in anointing kings over Syria, and Israel, and to anoint Elisha to replace him. But most important was that God told him you are not alone:

[1 Kings 19:18 NKJV] 18 "Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

Just as with Elijah we should expect nothing less. Jesus loves you more than you can ever know. When you find your broom tree, Jesus is looking for you and has a sweet calming voice wanting to encourage you, and embrace you with His arms. He is saying to you Don’t give up! You are not alone… I love you, and your family loves you. Today we can stand firm on this message from Elijah that even in our imperfect natures that are not unlike his; God will use us in great ways and He has great plans for us. Just don’t give up.

Let’s pray.