Elijah’s Challenge – Part 5, After the Victory…
2004 : Week 35  |  Printer Friendly Version  

In our Christian walk, we have seasons of victory that make us feel the euphoria of closeness to the Lord. These are precious moments in our life, and more than one preacher has described these times as glimpses of Heaven. Be it because we have received a great blessing or because we have seen the Lord work in a miraculous way, these times make us crave our future home.

Unfortunately, these times can end abruptly. We can be ripped from our blissful state and enter the reality of our fallen world instantly. After an amazing praise service, when we feel that union with the Lord, how do we go back and face the world? How do we cope with life, after scaling emotional and spiritual mountaintops with God?

Elijah had to face this. He had been there to watch the failure of the Prophets of Baal and their subsequent destruction. He saw the Lord answer a prayer like few of us ever will: fire fell from heaven. Now, the spiritual high had passed; Jezebel, after hearing what Elijah had done, was furious with him. She promises that he will be dead soon:

	1 Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time."
	1 Kings 19:1,2 (NASB)

Elijah is being hit by the storms of life again. He went from the spiritual mountaintop to the ‘valley of the shadow of death’ in an instant.

Thus far Elijah has been an example of how to remain calm in difficult circumstances, but his reaction to Jezebel’s threat makes us barely recognize the strong and faithful warrior,

	3 And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 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."
	1 Kings 19:3,4 (NASB)

He is tired from his trials, and he is emotionally drained. Perhaps he thought, because the Lord had moved in such a mighty way, that he would no longer face trouble from Ahab and Jezebel. Perhaps he thought his life would be without further pain and sorrow. The reality of Jezebel’s threat changes those thoughts, and Elijah finds himself running for his life.

Christians today can make the same mistake; we mistake a great victory in our lives for the final victory. We can think we’ll no longer be subject to pain, toil, suffering and sickness, but we learn this is not true. There will be trouble in our lives, and Jesus told us this, "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34)

Our victories and blessings from the Lord do not mean that we will have no further turmoil. We should cherish them, crave them and praise God for those times of joy, but they are only a taste of what is to come; they are not the norm for our fallen world. One day, all Christians will partake in the eternal bliss of Heaven: one day. For now, we go on having moments at the top of the mountain and moments in the valley of the shadow of death. Next week, we will continue to review this subject by looking further at Elijah’s experience in the valley.

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you today and always…

***Words of Jesus Christ appear in red



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