Sermon: What Despair Did Not See – 1 Kgs 19 (5/3/26)
Mother's Day Remarks
Church family, before we open God’s Word together, I want to take a moment to speak tenderly to the reality of this day.
Mother’s Day is a day of celebration, and it should be.
We give thanks for mothers, grandmothers, spiritual mothers, and for the countless ways God has shown his kindness through the women in our lives.
But we also know this day is complicated for many people.
For some, this is the first Mother’s Day without your mom.
For others, it is another year of grief, longing, infertility, miscarriage, estrangement, regret, or sorrow.
Some mothers carry the ache of a child who is far from them.
Some children carry wounds from a relationship that was never what they hoped it would be.
Some women longed to be mothers and have carried that longing quietly for many years.
So today, we want to celebrate with those who rejoice, and we want to weep with those who weep.
We do not have to pretend that every heart in this room feels the same thing this morning.
The good news is that the Lord sees every heart.
He knows the joy, and he knows the sorrow.
He is near to his people in both.
So whether this day is sweet for you, painful for you, or some mixture of both, we want you to know that you are loved, you are seen, and you are welcome here.
More importantly, the Lord himself is near.
PRAYER
Psalm 34.18 | The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit. (CSB)
Sermon Introduction
Scripture
Turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings 19.
Today we will take a close, and perhaps uncomfortable, look at one of the Bible’s greatest heroes.
The honesty of Scripture...
When we come to 1 Kings 19, I am thankful for the honesty of Scripture.
We talk often about the truthfulness of Scripture.
Scripture is truthful, and it is truth.
Truthful means Scripture speaks without error, falsehood, or deception.
It is inerrant and infallible.
Truth refers to the fact that God's word is the standard by which everything else is measured.
But we mean something different when we say it is HONEST.
Scripture is candid.
It tells us the whole story.
Scripture does not leave out the uncomfortable parts.
Scripture does not hide the embarrassing parts.
Scripture shows us its heroes, warts and all...
So, we have Bible heroes...
David
Moses
Noah
Elijah
We learn much reading their stories of valor, courage, sacrifice, and faith.
But we also learn much from their stories of weakness, failure, compromise, and sin.
This is so valuable!
A. For one, I think this gives us even greater confidence in the veracity of Scripture.
Experts in the field of historical criticism and historiography often use something called the criterion of embarrassment to help determine if some piece of ancient history is a true description or if it is a fable, myth, or propaganda.
Does the account include humiliating or inconvenient details?
Does it recount weaknesses or failures of its heroes?
Does it include uncomfortable tensions and complexities?
The Bible clearly includes the whole truth...
Abraham tells cowardly lies...
David commits adultery...
Peter denies Christ...
And as we will see this morning...
The mighty prophet, Elijah, falls into a pit of despair.
When historians use this standard of measurement, the Bible does not read like myth.
It bears the marks of an honest recounting of real history.
B. A second reason this honesty is so valuable is that the real and salty lives of these heroes give us wisdom both to pursue victory and to survive defeat.
We can learn to have the courage of Elijah as he stands boldly before the wicked king Ahab and the 450 prophets of Baal...
That is important!
We can also learn to have the humility and resilience of Elijah as he survives his emotional collapse under the broom tree...
That is important too!
And that is why 1 Kings 19 is such a gift...
It shows us not only what faith looks like on Mount Carmel, but what faith NEEDS when it is exhausted, afraid, confused, and ready to quit.
Are you ready?
Are you ready to look behind the curtain and see some real life?
Are you ready to see the ugly parts?
The uncomfortable parts?
The painful parts?
Scripture
1 Kings 19.1 | Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. (CSB)
Who is whom...
Ahab is the king of Israel, the northern kingdom.
Jezebel is the queen.
Jezebel is the leading promoter of the worship of Baal.
Elijah is God's prophet.
In the last few weeks, we have seen Elijah stand with great courage and faith.
He has championed the one true living God.
He has raised his banner high.
He called fire down from heaven...
He led out in God's judgment against the false prophets.
So, Elijah is our hero...
Go be Elijah in your world!
1 Kings 19.2 | So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods punish me and do so severely if I don’t make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow!” (CSB)
There is more here than you might notice with a quick reading.
Clearly, Jezebel is angry and wants Elijah to pay with his life.
BUT WHY SEND A MESSENGER WITH A MESSAGE INSTEAD OF A SOLDIER WITH A SWORD?
What we are about to see here is the power of a thought.
Jezebel is seeking to take control of Elijah's IMAGINATION.
She is trying to induce fear...
She is trying to destroy his peace and confidence...
She is trying to shatter his sense of safety and make him live under a shadow...
We recognize this pattern because we have an enemy as well.
The strategy of our enemy is the same...
Our enemy seeks to control our imagination...
He speaks lies and threats and intimidations...
You are unloved and unlovable.
People around you would be better off without you.
Your future will be dark and difficult.
There is no hope.
You have failed because you are a failure.
You are broken, and things will never get better.
Nothing you have done has mattered.
What effect do you think the lies of the enemy will have on this great prophet of God?
Let's see.
1 Kings 19.3 | Then Elijah became afraid and immediately ran for his life. When he came to Beer-sheba that belonged to Judah, he left his servant there, (CSB)
Elijah experienced three very human reactions...
Fear...
Elijah became afraid...
The man who stood before Ahab now runs from Jezebel.
The man who saw fire fall from heaven now feels threatened by a message.
That is not written to make us despise Elijah.
It is written to help us understand ourselves.
Hasty decision making...
Immediately ran for his life...
FEAR COMPRESSES OUR VISION.
Fear makes the future feel settled before God has spoken.
Fear makes IMMEDIATE ESCAPE feel like the ONLY OPTION.
Isolation...
He left his servant there...
This is one of the saddest details in the story.
Elijah is not merely running from Jezebel.
He is beginning to separate himself from the very people God has placed near him.
Despair often tells us, “Get alone.”
But aloneness is rarely where despair gets healthier.
1 Kings 19.4 | but he went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, “I have had enough! Lord, take my life, for I’m no better than my ancestors.” (CSB)
This is one of those verses that you have to read and reread to really take it all in.
What is going on here?
In the previous verse, Elijah was running.
Now he is just sitting.
In the previous verse, Elijah is trying not to die.
Now he is wishing he would die.
In the previous chapter, Elijah was seeking opportunities to serve the Lord.
Now he has had enough.
Despair runs a spectrum...
On one end it brings frustration...
On the other extreme it can bring SUICIDAL IDEATION...
Elijah landed on this extreme end.
And he is not the only Bible hero to land there...
Moses
Numbers 11.15 | If you are going to treat me like this, please kill me right now if I have found favor with you, and don’t let me see my misery anymore.” (CSB)
Job
Job 3.11 | Why was I not stillborn; why didn’t I die as I came from the womb? (CSB)
Jeremiah
Jeremiah 20.14 | May the day I was born be cursed. May the day my mother bore me never be blessed. (CSB)
Paul
2 Corinthians 1.8 | "We were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength—so that we even despaired of life itself." (CSB)
Samson
Judges 16.30 | Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” He pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the leaders and all the people in it. And those he killed at his death were more than those he had killed in his life. (CSB)
I have never been on that end of despair, but I've spoken with many people who have been.
And while this is not a message about suicide, let me tell you three things every person who has these thoughts should know.
A. You are more loved than you know.
We will revisit this in a moment.
B. Suicide causes more pain than it erases.
In fact, at its core, suicide is the height of selfishness.
It merely transfers your pain to the ones who love you most.
C. There is hope.
Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
The Lord loves you and he offers you a better path.
Elijah does a good thing...
The good things Elijah does is that he refuses to bury his despair.
Elijah takes his despair to the Lord.
He does so poorly...
He does so without the best theological categories...
And as we will see in a moment, he does so without acknowledging some pretty important truths...
But he takes it to the Lord.
And that is what we should ALWAYS do with despair.
This passage is not a condemnation against those who struggle with despair.
Despair happens.
This passage is God's permission for you to bring your despair to him even if you do not know how to do so.
Keep a finger on 1 Kings 19.4.
We will be coming back to this important verse.
1 Kings 19.5 | Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. Suddenly, an angel touched him. The angel told him, “Get up and eat.” (CSB)
Elijah laid down under the broom tree.
He was physically exhausted.
Make a note of this, we will come back to it.
1 Kings 19.6 | Then he looked, and there at his head was a loaf of bread baked over hot stones, and a jug of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. (CSB)
1 Kings 19.7 | Then the angel of the Lord returned for a second time and touched him. He said, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.” (CSB)
Before God corrected Elijah’s perspective, he cared for Elijah’s body.
THE LORD KNEW THAT A WORN-OUT SERVANT CAN START BELIEVING WORN-OUT CONCLUSIONS.
1 Kings 19.8 | So he got up, ate, and drank. Then on the strength from that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. (CSB)
Skip...
1 Kings 19.9 | He entered a cave there and spent the night. Suddenly, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (CSB)
1 Kings 19.10 | He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Armies, but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life.” (CSB)
1 Kings 19.11 | Then he said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence.” At that moment, the Lord passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. (CSB)
1 Kings 19.12 | After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper. (CSB)
1 Kings 19.13 | When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Suddenly, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (CSB)
1 Kings 19.14 | “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Armies,” he replied, “but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they’re looking for me to take my life.” (CSB)
1 Kings 19.15 | Then the Lord said to him, “Go and return by the way you came to the Wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram. (CSB)
1 Kings 19.16 | You are to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. (CSB)
1 Kings 19.17 | Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu. (CSB)
1 Kings 19.18 | But I will leave seven thousand in Israel—every knee that has not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.” (CSB)
1 Kings 19.19 | Elijah left there and found Elisha son of Shaphat as he was plowing. Twelve teams of oxen were in front of him, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah walked by him and threw his mantle over him. (CSB)
1 Kings 19.20 | Elisha left the oxen, ran to follow Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow you.” “Go on back,” he replied, “for what have I done to you?” (CSB)
1 Kings 19.21 | So he turned back from following him, took the team of oxen, and slaughtered them. With the oxen’s wooden yoke and plow, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he left, followed Elijah, and served him. (CSB)
What Despair Did Not See
This is such an important passage because we find Elijah in a place very familiar to us and to those we know and love.
And we find him in this place for the same reasons we find ourselves struggling with despair.
Elijah ignored four important things.
I. Elijah ignored God's past faithfulness.
What did he ignore?
Elijah ignored what God had just done.
And he ignored what God before that...
And he ignored what God had done before that...
Despair has a way of making the present threat feel more real than the whole history of God’s faithfulness.
He ignored how God had been faithful on Mount Carmel as he stood before the prophets of Baal.
Scripture...
1 Kings 18.38 | Then the Lord’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. (CSB)
Before that?
He ignored how God had provided the miracle with the widow and her son.
Scripture
1 Kings 17.22 | So the Lord listened to Elijah, and the boy’s life came into him again, and he lived. (CSB)
Before that?
He ignored how God had provided for him through three years of national drought.
Scripture
1 Kings 17.15 | So she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah. Then the woman, Elijah, and her household ate for many days. (CSB)
Before that?
He ignored how God had proven himself faithful to Israel for generations!
Scripture
1 Kings 18.36 | At the time for offering the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah approached the altar and said, “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that you are God in Israel and I am your servant, and that at your word I have done all these things. (CSB)
Elijah had acknowledged that God has been faithful through the generations of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.
What happened to Elijah?
Emotional stress had narrowed his perspective.
Many things can cause emotional stress in our lives...
Fear
Danger
Threats
Uncertainty
Defeats
Victories
And one of the common effects of emotional stress is that it narrows our perspective...
We get a kind of TUNNEL VISION that prevents us from seeing God's track record of faithfulness in our lives and in the lives of those around us.
A Big X
If I take a black marker and draw a big dark X on my hand...
Then I focus more and more closely on that X...
The X will take up more and more of my field of view...
Eventually, the X will be all I see...
Those are the mechanics of despair.
Mechanics...
Despair does not usually begin by denying every true thing.
DESPAIR BEGINS BY MAKING ONE PAINFUL THING FEEL LIKE THE ONLY TRUE THING.
You see it in Elijah's example...
We see it in our own lives...
In almost every instance of despair, shallow or deep, the first problem is that we need to pause and take in a bigger picture...
Bigger picture of who the Lord is...
Bigger picture of what the Lord has done...
Bigger picture of what the Lord is doing...
How do we broaden our perspective and better see God's faithfulness?
This is not a psychological trick...
I am not advocating some quasi-Christian positive thinking hack.
Listen, I've read all the John Mark Comer and Peter Scazzero books Christians are reading today.
I am not advocating self-help gimmicks and therapeutic hacks deceptively wrapped in Bible verses.
The Bible itself gives us clear instructions to teach us how to gain or regain a greater perspective.
Step 1 — Giving Thanks
1 Thessalonians 5.16 | Rejoice always, (CSB)
1 Thessalonians 5.17 | pray constantly, (CSB)
1 Thessalonians 5.18 | give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (CSB)
We need to be always, intentionally, and specifically counting our blessings.
ALWAYS
This must be a regular pattern in our lives.
Of course, we should redouble our efforts when we face times of despair...
BUT THANKSGIVING IS NOT EMERGENCY MEDICINE ONLY.
It is daily bread for the soul.
INTENTIONALLY
I am not talking about a vague attitude of gratitude
I mean taking time to speak gratitude to God.
Thanksgiving is not just noticing that life has gifts.
Thanksgiving is tracing those gifts back to the giver.
SPECIFICALLY
And we must be specific about our gratitude.
General gratitude has little or no value.
If you are thankful for something, then SAY WHAT IT IS.
Name the mercy.
Name the provision.
Name the answered prayer.
Name the person God used.
Name the strength God gave.
Name the sin God forgave.
Name the door God opened.
Name the danger God carried you through.
Thanksgiving is one way we force our souls to remember that the God who has been faithful before has not stopped being faithful now.
The greatest strength and peace come from our thankfulness for the gospel...
When we pause and contemplate what Christ endured for us...
Why he did so...
Our sin...
Why he did so...
His love...
When we express thanksgiving for unmerited grace of the Lord.
Step 2 — Exercising Community
Hebrews 10.24 | And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works,(CSB)
Hebrews 10.25 | not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching. (CSB)
When we are closely and regularly connected with other believers, God will use that to broaden our perspective and fight despair.
We will learn more about how this works in the next sermon point...
But notice how despair almost always goes hand in hand with ISOLATION.
Here is how this works...
If you cannot see reasons to be thankful for how the Lord is working in your own life...
Then you need to be close enough to others to see how the Lord is working in their life...
And for them to be able to help you see how the Lord is working in your life.
Sometimes you need another believer to say:
“Brother, you are not seeing the whole picture.”
“Friend, this is real, but it is not all that is real.”
“Yes, this is hard, but God has not abandoned you.”
“Let me help you remember what despair is making you forget.”
Next...
That leads us to the second thing despair did not see. Elijah did not only forget what God had done. He also forgot the people God had placed around him.
II. Elijah ignored the others God had placed around him.
Elijah kept saying he was alone.
He says it three separate times in 1 Kings 18–19.
1 Kings 18.22 | Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. (CSB)
1 Kings 19.10 | He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Armies, but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life.” (CSB)
1 Kings 19.14 | “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Armies,” he replied, “but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they’re looking for me to take my life.” (CSB)
That phrase matters.
“I alone am left.”
That is the voice of despair.
That is what despair says when it has been staring at the threat so long that it loses sight of the people God has placed nearby.
Elijah was not merely saying, “I feel lonely.”
He was saying, “I am all that is left.”
He was saying, “No one else is faithful.”
He was saying, “No one else understands.”
He was saying, “No one else is standing.”
He was saying, “No one else is with me.”
But the problem is that none of that was actually true.
Elijah knew these statements were never true!
He knew about Obadiah...
Scripture
1 Kings 18.7 | While Obadiah was walking along the road, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” (CSB)
Obadiah was not a weak believer.
He was not a secret sympathizer with the Lord’s people.
He was a courageous man serving God in a very dangerous place.
He was in Ahab’s administration.
He was living inside the pressure.
He was risking his life under Jezebel’s nose.
And Elijah knew him.
He knew Obadiah had hidden away at least one hundred faithful prophets of the Lord...
Scripture
1 Kings 18.13 | Wasn’t it reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the Lord’s prophets? I hid one hundred of the prophets of the Lord, fifty men to a cave, and I provided them with food and water. (CSB)
So Elijah was not the only prophet of the Lord left.
There were at least one hundred others.
They were hidden.
They were vulnerable.
They were not standing publicly on Mount Carmel.
But they were real.
Their faithfulness counted.
Their hidden obedience mattered.
One of the mistakes we make in despair is that we only count the kind of faithfulness we can easily see.
But God often has faithful people hidden in caves.
They may not be on the platform.
They may not be in the confrontation.
They may not be known by the crowd.
But they belong to the Lord.
And they are part of God’s work.
Elijah had seen the people on Mount Carmel bow before the Lord.
Scripture
1 Kings 18.39 | When all the people saw it, they fell facedown and said, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!” (CSB)
Was their repentance complete?
Maybe not.
Was their courage fully formed?
Probably not.
But Elijah had seen a public turning toward the Lord.
He had seen people fall on their faces.
He had heard the confession with his own ears.
“The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!”
But despair edited that part out of the story.
Despair is a dishonest editor.
It cuts out mercy.
It cuts out encouragement.
It cuts out signs of grace.
It cuts out the people who have not quit.
It cuts out the people who are weak but still present.
It leaves only the threat.
Elijah had a servant with him until 1 Kings 19.3.
Scripture
1 Kings 19.3 | Then Elijah became afraid and immediately ran for his life. When he came to Beer-sheba that belonged to Judah, he left his servant there, (CSB)
This is one of the saddest details in the story.
Elijah did have someone with him.
He had a servant.
He had a companion.
He had someone near enough to travel with him.
But when Elijah reached Beer-sheba, he left him there.
Then Elijah went on alone into the wilderness.
In other words, Elijah did not only feel alone.
He CHOSE aloneness.
He moved toward ISOLATION.
That is what despair often does.
Despair says, “No one understands me.”
Then it pushes away the people who might try.
Despair says, “No one cares.”
Then it stops answering the phone.
Despair says, “No one can help me.”
Then it refuses to tell anyone what is really going on.
Despair says, “I am alone.”
Then it takes step after step into the wilderness.
Finally, God promises that he has 7,000 prophets who have never compromised.
Scripture
1 Kings 19.18 | But I will leave seven thousand in Israel—every knee that has not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.” (CSB)
Elijah says, “I alone am left.”
God says, “No, Elijah. There are seven thousand.”
Elijah says, “I cannot see anyone else.”
God says, “That does not mean no one else exists.”
Elijah says, “I am the last faithful man standing.”
God says, “I have preserved a remnant you do not even know how to count.”
That is humbling.
That is correcting.
But it is also wonderfully comforting.
God’s work is always bigger than what you can see from your cave.
So, what is with this, Elijah? Were you lying?
Well, not intentionally...
Let me explain something about Elijah and about you and me...
Despair turns feelings into conclusions.
Differences
There is a difference between saying:
“I feel alone.”
And saying, “I am alone.”
There is a difference between saying:
“I feel like no one understands.”
And saying, “No one understands.”
There is a difference between saying:
“I feel like nothing is changing.”
And saying, “Nothing is changing.”
There is a difference between saying:
“I feel like my work has not mattered.”
And saying, “My work has not mattered.”
Despair blurs that line.
It takes an honest feeling and turns it into a false conclusion.
So we should not mock Elijah.
We should learn from him.
Because all of us know what it is like to feel something so strongly that we begin treating the feeling as fact.
The root of his loneliness was sinful self-sufficiency.
In our self sufficiency the more stressed we become, the more alone we feel.
This is one of the paradoxes of human nature.
We need people most when we are most tempted to push them away.
Self-sufficiency sounds noble, but it is often pride wearing work clothes.
It says:
“I do not want to be a burden.”
“I should be stronger than this.”
“I am the leader, so I cannot let anyone know.”
“I should be able to handle this.”
“Other people have enough problems.”
“No one would understand anyway.”
Some of those statements sound humble.
But underneath them is often the assumption that we were meant to carry alone what God designed to be carried in community.
God did not design his people to live as ISOLATED HEROES.
The Christian life is not a solo expedition.
The church is not a crowd of individuals who happen to sit in the same room once a week.
The church is a body.
The church is a family.
The church is a flock.
The church is a temple made of living stones.
This means God often ministers his grace to us through other people.
Sometimes God strengthens you through Scripture.
Sometimes God strengthens you through prayer.
Sometimes God strengthens you through rest.
Sometimes God strengthens you through food and sleep.
And sometimes God strengthens you through another believer who says, “I am here. You are not alone. Let me help you remember what is true.”
What does God do for Elijah?
God does not merely tell Elijah, “You are wrong.”
God gives Elijah people.
He tells him about seven thousand faithful Israelites.
And then God gives him Elisha.
1 Kings 19.19 | Elijah left there and found Elisha son of Shaphat as he was plowing. Twelve teams of oxen were in front of him, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah walked by him and threw his mantle over him. (CSB)
This is beautiful.
Elijah says, “I alone am left.”
God says, “No, you are not.”
Then God gives him a companion, a successor, and a servant.
Elisha does not remove every burden from Elijah’s life.
But he does remind Elijah that God’s work will not die with Elijah.
Elijah is not the whole story.
Elijah is not the last faithful man.
Elijah is not carrying the kingdom on his shoulders.
God has others.
God always has others.
Some of you...
Some of you are in the dangerous place Elijah was in.
You have taken a real burden, a real fear, a real disappointment, or a real wound, and you have added one more sentence:
“And I am alone.”
But before you believe that sentence, bring it before the Lord.
Ask:
“Lord, who are the Obadiah's I have overlooked?”
“Who are the hidden prophets I have forgotten?”
“Who are the servants I have left behind?”
“Who are the seven thousand I cannot see?”
“Who is the Elisha you may be placing in my life?”
And then take one concrete step toward the people God has placed around you.
Make the call.
Send the text.
Come to the class.
Join the group.
Tell the truth.
Ask for prayer.
Let someone sit with you.
Let someone help you remember what despair is making you forget.
III. Elijah ignored the call of God on his life.
(I'll be brief with this point.)
Elijah had not appointed himself to this work.
If we look back on Elijah's story beginning in 1 Kings 17...
We see that Elijah clearly understood that God had called him to do what he was doing.
Elijah was not a self-appointed prophet.
Elijah was not a religious freelancer.
Elijah was not a courageous man who woke up one morning and decided to pick a fight with Ahab, Jezebel, and the prophets of Baal.
Everything he does is in response to God's call on his life...
1 Kings 17.2 | Then the word of the Lord came to him: (CSB)
1 Kings 17.3 | “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. (CSB)
And Elijah had stood before Ahab and said that God had called him to take the stands and make the proclamations he made.
1 Kings 17.1 | Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!” (CSB)
And when Elijah stood on Mount Carmel, he made it clear he was on assignment with the Lord.
1 Kings 18.36 | At the time for offering the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah approached the altar and said, “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that you are God in Israel and I am your servant and that at your word I have done all these things.” (CSB)
Then we come to 1 Kings 19.4 and under the broom tree it seems Elijah had forgotten that he was called by God and on assignment
1 Kings 19.4 | but he went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, “I have had enough! Lord, take my life, for I’m no better than my ancestors.” (CSB)
Let me just speak plainly...
The office of prophet was not Elijah's to resign.
God had called him and assigned him and commanded him.
This was not a voluntary enlistment.
When Elijah gets to this point in the story, he decides for some reason...
I do not want to do this any more...
This is too hard...
This is not very popular...
I am not as successful as I believed I would be...
The problem was that Elijah was called by God to do this and any other considerations were nothing other than rebellion.
Elijah could bring his exhaustion to the Lord.
Elijah could bring his fear to the Lord.
Elijah could bring his despair to the Lord.
Elijah could even bring his complaint to the Lord.
But he could not declare his assignment over when God had not released him from it.
A Weird Comment that has Stuck with Me...
It was December of 1999...
Sounds like the beginning of a Four Seasons song...
December, 1963...
Oh, what a night...
I was in a brand-new city as the new senior pastor of Iron City Baptist Church.
I went to my first "Area Pastor's Meeting," a monthly meeting of senior pastors in the area.
The president of the group of 40–50 pastors was "Pastor Mike."
He was kicking off the meeting and said something I will never forget.
I'm not sure he should have said what he said...
But I am sure once he said it, the Lord wanted me to hear it...
Mike said...
"I am disgusted to share with you that Pastor so-and-so from such-and-such church resigned last Sunday to work at Sunny King Ford (a local car dealership)."
"Brothers... another soldier has gone AWOL."
Then Mike led us in a prayer where we all basically prayed for God's judgment to fall on the head of that DESERTER.
I had never heard anything like that.
And, like I said, I'm not sure that is how that should have been discussed in an open meeting...
There were likely other details to the situation that I was not aware of.
But it for the first time in my young ministry life, I understood what it meant that there was a call on my life.
A call from God is not a hobby.
A call from God is not a preference.
A call from God is not something I pick up when it feels inspiring and put down when it feels heavy.
The Apostle Paul called himself a bond servant (slave) of Christ.
I too was a bond servant, a called man...
Quitting was no more an option than stopping my heartbeat.
Some things in life are not optional!
Not that if anyone has ever quit the ministry they should be ashamed.
That is a much more complicated thing than can be addressed in a sermon like this.
I am saying that there are things in life that are not optional.
There are things we are called to...
There are things we have committed to...
There are things that do not have anything to do with...
Our preference...
Our wishes...
How easy it is...
How difficult it might be...
What others think...
Some things are simply matters of...
Faithfulness
Obedience
Endurance and perseverance
For me...
God has called me to vocational ministry for the rest of my days.
I have come close to quitting a couple times in my life.
For me, quitting in certain moments of despair would not have been discernment.
It would have been desertion.
God has called me to be a husband to Donna Reed Dear.
My status and role as her husband must not depend on...
My preference...
How easy it is...
How fun it is...
How difficult it might be...
What others think...
God has called me to be a father to my three girls...
God has called me to some other things...
What am I really saying?
I'm preaching to myself right now...
Sometimes, like Elijah, despair comes because we are naval gazing and reconsidering things we have no right to reconsider.
And sometimes, like Elijah, we need to get up, trust the Lord, and march on!
DO NOT LET DESPAIR TALK YOU OUT OF OBEDIENCE.
LET OBEDIENCE LEAD YOU OUT OF DESPAIR.
IV. Elijah ignored his physical and emotional exhaustion.
Finally, Elijah ignored the role of exhaustion.
Elijah was not only discouraged. He was depleted.
He had stood on Mount Carmel.
He had faced Ahab and Jezebel.
He had run for his life.
He had traveled into the wilderness.
His body was tired, and his soul was worn thin.
Notice the mercy of God.
God does not begin with a sermon.
God begins with sleep, bread, and water.
That is not accidental.
Before God corrected Elijah’s perspective, he cared for Elijah’s body.
Sometimes despair is not only a spiritual issue.
Sometimes it is also an exhaustion issue.
We are embodied creatures.
We need sleep.
We need food.
We need rest.
We need limits.
What to do...
Do not make life-altering decisions when you are exhausted.
Do not draw final conclusions when you are depleted.
Do not assume your darkest thoughts are your truest thoughts.
Sometimes the most obedient thing you can do is not press harder.
Sometimes the most obedient thing you can do is REST.
Despair says, “I need to quit.”
Wisdom may simply say, “You need to sleep.”
Jesus says...
Matthew 11.28 | “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.(CSB)
Conclusion
<<<<<<<<<< MUSIC BEGINS >>>>>>>>>>
To wrap this up, I want us to go back to 1 Kings 19.4...
1 Kings 19.4 | but he went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, “I have had enough! Lord, take my life, for I’m no better than my ancestors.” (CSB)
Why do you think the Scripture mentions the detail of the broom tree?
The broom tree might be called a Juniper Tree in your Bible.
But this was not the tall evergreen Juniper trees people think of today.
This was a straggly tree that looked like a broom sticking up out of the ground.
The broom tree would have provided...
Poor shade...
Poor protection from the elements...
No fruit or sustenance...
The broken Elijah SITS and SULKS under this poor excuse for a tree...
We tend to do the same today...
There are all kinds of broom trees we hope will bring us peace, forgiveness, security, hope...
I do not think it is an accident that Elijah sat in despair under that tree.
Because it reminds us of another tree...
The Bible often refers to Jesus's cross as a tree.
Acts 5.30 | The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging him on a tree. (CSB)
Galatians 3.13 | Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. (CSB)
1 Peter 2.24 | He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (CSB)
Today God calls those who are in broken despair to come under his tree.
His is the better tree.
To come "under the cross" means...