daily java

Daily Java:

When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. 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.” 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.” (1 Kings 19:1-4)

Sometimes life gets to you. Sometimes things do not go as you expect, and even though you have a lot of trust in God and in his power, you just get depressed.

There was no greater prophet than Elijah. He did things that were amazing by his faith in God.

He was fresh from a victory for the Lord in which he had a contest with 850 priests of an idol over who was the real God. These men prayed all day and nothing happened. Elijah prayed a simple prayer and fire consumed his sacrifice.

The people of Israel knew, through the agency of Elijah, that God was real.

Yet, Queen Jezebel, admittedly a horrendous woman, threatens his life and he runs away.

Why would a great man of God be threatened by some woman and run away? Especially one who was as powerful as Elijah. Why would a man of God who was as full of the Spirit of God as Elijah was become so depressed by what seemed like such a small thing?

The reason is simple. He was human. Life in Jesus and in the power of God is not a single high. It also has a lot of lows. Things happen beyond our control that take our minds off Jesus and we begin thinking about other stuff.

If nothing else, our own powerlessness come to the front and we realize that, in the long run, there may be nothing we can really do to stop the forces of evil.

I think even Jesus had moments like that. As he stood before the tomb of Lazarus in John 11, it says Jesus wept. He knew that he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, but still, his friend was dead. God never made people to die. He made them to live in his presence.

But die they do, even if they are friends with Jesus himself. And it made him cry.

Elijah was a man with a problem with depression. No matter who much he did, he couldn’t seem to shake this feeling of his own powerlessness. And he was right. Only God can do that.

And he will. Philippians 4:6-7 says:

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

If we let him reign in our lives, we will have peace, God’s peace, that transcends all that we can imagine. It doesn’t mean we don’t get down, or feel depressed, it means we will know he is there.

And he loves us.