THE ANTIDOTES FOR DISCOURAGEMENT (2)

THE ANTIDOTES FOR DISCOURAGEMENT (2)

Perhaps the most encouraging truth to remember is that being discouraged is not a sin. God dealt gently with Elijah. If a great prophet like Elijah could lose hope, we should not expect to get through life without experiencing low points.

Third, God asked Elijah to consider God’s role in his circumstances. Elijah went to Mount Horeb and lodged in a cave. God asked him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah replied, 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 (1 Kings 19:10).

God was interested in making Elijah think by asking him, “What are you doing here . . . ?” (1 Kings 19:9, 13). Elijah’s answer reflected his troubles (1 Kings 19:10). He said the same thing again (1 Kings 19:14) after God had appeared to him, indicating that he did not understand the lesson God intended for him to learn. Elijah remained focused on his own troubles, which is a typical human reaction.

Is there another way to think? God was trying to teach Elijah a lesson. He was not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire (as he had been on Mount Carmel), although God’s presence had in earlier days been made apparent in similar physical displays (see Exodus 19:18). Neither does the text say that God was in the “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12; KJV); but that idea is implied, especially by means of Elijah’s reaction to the voice (1 Kings 19:13). What was God trying to teach Elijah? Perhaps the lesson was that God does not always work through spectacular events, but also works through small things. Maybe the primary message was simply that Elijah was incapable of judging where God was or what He was doing at any particular moment. Elijah may have needed to learn to do the best he could and leave the results in God’s hands!

Surely, we need to learn the same lesson. We become preoccupied with our perceived failures and overlook the possibility that God may be at work—not in some major, spectacular event, but in a “still small voice.” Let us give God credit: He may allow us to fail in one endeavour in order to achieve some greater purpose (see Romans 8:28). God can still accomplish good from our efforts, even when we are discouraged.

Word Affirmation: When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up - Psalm 27:10 (Don't just say it, mean it!)

“God can still accomplish good from our efforts, even when we are discouraged.”

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