‘Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the Lord said to Elijah, “Why are you here?” Even in those dark days over 20 years ago, I could sense God’s presence.Įlijah returned to Mount Sinai, the place of great signs and wonders and where Moses had encountered God. I was outside of God’s will at that point in my life. I remember a particularly dark time in my life when I was looking for a tree to drive my car into because my life was a mess. So, it’s not a matter of whether God is there or not, it’s a matter of experiencing God’s presence. God loved us while we were still sinning. God has not abandoned you! Lest we assume this only applies to believers, Paul already stated in Romans 5:6-8 that Christ died for us while we were helpless, still sinners. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below-indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 8:35-39, NLT). Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ‘Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.ģ8 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. This is clear in the fact that God sent a messenger to Elijah to minister to his physical needs. It just means you’re human, just like Elijah was human. Let me be explicitly clear: depression, being overwhelmed by feelings of being alone, and even suicidal thoughts are not a sign that God has abandoned you. Have you felt this way? Alone, isolated, depressed, suicidal? We get to see Elijah’s true state of mind. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 5Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep’ (1 Kings 19:3-5, BSB). He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself traveled on a day’s journey into the wilderness. Jezebel is kinda miffed by this, so she puts out an assassination order on Elijah. They have a big showdown on Mount Carmel, there’s fire from heaven and God wins, and then Elijah kills 450 prophets of Baal. Three years into the draught, Elijah confronts Ahab and says they’re going to settle this once and for all. The super-prophet Elijah was instructed by God to pray that the rain would cease. Jezebel had been systematically exterminating all the prophets of God. So, Ahab the King of Israel was naughty and married the evil foreign priestess of Baal, Jezebel. That’s how I know it’s God, though I do prefer it when God gives me a little more to go with than this. Last week, driving here, I felt him say, “Tell them what I have done.” Simple, straightforward, basic. I was seeking God for what specific word he would have me share. God has something unique and personal to say to each of us through his word.
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