Elijah’s Challenge – Part 7, Has the Tank Really Run Dry?
2004 : Week 37 | Website Version
Last week we saw that when the burdens got to heavy for Elijah to bear, God sent an angel to comfort and heal him. Similarly, God heals and cares for us when we are trampled by life. He knows when we’re hurt, and He knows when we’re tired. This week we’ll see that Elijah believed he had nothing left to give to God. Life had tired him out, and he was through with his ministry.
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4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers." |
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| 1 Kings 19:4 (NASB) | |
The answer is yes and no. Elijah was correct to think there was nothing he could do for the Lord in his own strength, and it wasn’t because he was now exhausted; it was because he never could work for the Lord in his own strength. God was always the one providing the energy and strength to Elijah:
- It was God who gave Elijah the courage to stand before Ahab
- It was God who gave Elijah the courage to confront the Prophets of Baal
- It was God who made fire fall from heaven.
So why bother then? Since God is the source of power, why should Elijah care? Why can’t he step aside and let someone who isn’t tired and worn do the work in his place? It’s simple; that’s not what God had called him to do. This was Elijah’s appointed task. He had to obey, because we’re all called to be a living sacrifice for the Lord. We have no right to tell Him how to use us. We have no right to tell Him when to use us, and we have no right to tell Him when we’d like Him to stop using us. Since Jesus gave His life for us, why should we not do the same in His service?
While it’s scary to give ourselves over to the Lord that completely, we have faith that God will use us in situations where we will be able to use our abilities, the ones He gave us, to the glory of the Kingdom. So while Elijah had no strength in and of himself to help the Lord, he could offer himself to the Lord, so that the Lord would pour His power into this living vessel.
Tired form the struggle, this man of faith shifts his focus from the power of God. The Lord comes to him while he is resting in a cave, and asks, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9) Elijah’s response shows that his focus is on his terrible circumstances:
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10 He said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." |
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| 1 Kings 19:10 (NASB) | |
Elijah might have thought that his work was done, but that was simply his opinion. As living sacrifices for the Lord, we are not the ones who determine when or how the Lord will use us. Our job is to make sure we are ready and willing to go forward when we are called: tired, worn or energized; the Lord will take care of the rest.
May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you today and always…
