Dealing with Dissappointment
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Sweet victory. Sour defeat. Kinda like sweet and sour chicken, victory and defeat usually go together. Tonight, we are going to look at a story that shows this is the most dramatic way possible.
(Excuse student leaders to get bricks and sticks)
In ancient Israel there was a prophet named Elijah. He was a real headache for the king of Israel, Ahab, and his wife Jezabel. You see, Ahab and Jezabel were not what you would consider “God-followers”. Ahab was a cry baby and Jezabel was a murderous pagan. Anywho, at some point God told Elijah to pray that there would be no rain in Israel, and there wasn’t.....for 3.5 years! Eventually, God had Elijah challenge that prophets of the false god Baal. Now there were 450 prophets of Baal and 1 prophet of the One True God.
Elijah challenges then to a sacrifice by fire. Whichever god send fire from the sky to receive the sacrifice will prove themselves as the true god of Israel. This should be easy for Baal since he is the god of lightning. Well, 8 hrs and a lot of dancing, cutting, screaming, whaling and mocking later, and there is nothing. Eventually these 450 prophets of Baal are exhausted and give up. Elijah decides to go all-in. He rebuilds the altar, because they knocked it over with all their craziness, and the throughs the bull on there, then throws 4 jugs of water on it so there is no way he is lighting it himself. Then he simply prays. No dancing or singing or shouting or cutting himself or craziness. He just asks God to do what God does. And God answers. And then, as one does when God answers your prayers, Elijah rounds up all the prophets of Baal, 450, and takes them down to the river and cuts their heads off.
That sounds like an absolute win right?
But the story continues, in 1 Kings 19 Jezebel hears about what Elijah has done and she swears to kill him. So what does the mighty Elijah do? 1 Kings 19:3-4
Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. 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.”
We’ve all been here. We’ve had enough and we feel like we can’t go on. On our best days, we can laugh and say “been there.” On our worst days we can say “I am right there with you.” But I love the response of God. 1Kings 19:5-8
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!” 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.
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.”
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.
God didn’t scold him, correct him or abandon him. He stayed and helped him regain his perspective.
There he came to a cave, where he spent the night.
But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 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. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
He replied again, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
Yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!”
When we are at our lowest, and our perspective in messed up, God is still with us. He doesn’t give up on us because things get hard.
There are so many truths and nuggets of wisdom in this story i want to share with you. But here is the biggest idea I want you to walk away with tonight. At your best, and at your worst, Jesus will never leave you.