Spiritual Renewal: How to Overcome Discouragement and Find New Mission

Trevor S Ferguson

October 20, 2014

1st Kings 19:7-16 (KJV)
⁷  And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.
⁸  And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
⁹  And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
¹⁰  And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
¹¹  And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:
¹²  And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
¹³  And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?
¹⁴  And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
¹⁵  And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:
¹⁶  And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.

INTRODUCTION

The Christian life can be quite challenging, especially for those who labour in ministry. Many Christian workers (e.g. pastors, ministers, teachers, choristers) are stressed, distressed, depressed, burnt out and discouraged. The reasons for these situations vary. Many are overwhelmed by the physical demands of ministry and the toll it takes on the body. This is particularly relevant in churches which have few full time ministers, so that persons hold full time jobs while being essentially full time in ministry. In addition to this they often have to minister to the emotional and spiritual needs of their families and work on their own personal development and self actualization. It does not take much to see that such persons could end up burnt out!

Other challenges faced by Christian workers result from the spiritual and emotional toll of ministry. Sometimes the success we look for in ministry does not seem apparent. We preach or teach our hearts out and the people appear to show no response. We expect great revival but our hearers continue in their evil ways and apostasy. Then we begin to say: Lord, what’s the use? Just take me home, I can’t continue in this fight any more.

The latter situation is similar to the one we see with Elijah in 1^st Kings 19. However as we read through this passage we see how God sent his angel to minister unto Elijah and through a series of events led him out of despair and discouragement to a state where he was renewed and recommissioned for ministry.

Today I want to walk us through this process and show how that through a process of spiritual renewal we can be renewed and recommissioned for ministry. So that at the end of our days we can declare like the Apostle Paul in 2^nd Timothy 4:7-8

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”   

EXPOSITION

Let us look at the text in more detail. The account in 1^st Kings 19 follows Elijah’s great, miraculous and monumental victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel in 1^st Kings 18. He was able to demonstrate the power of God as one man against 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. Having called the prophets to a contest to see who were the prophets of the true God, Elijah had the people prepare two bullocks, one to be offered to Baal by the prophets of Baal and the other to be offered to the LORD by Elijah. The God that answered by fire would be declared the true God. Despite all the antics of the prophets of Baal – praying, prophesying, and cutting themselves – there was no answer from Baal. But when Elijah called on the name of the Lord, the fire of God came down and consumed the sacrifice. The people therefore declared “The LORD, He is the God, The Lord, He is the God”. Elijah then commanded that all the prophets of Baal should be killed.

After such a great victory one would expect Elijah to be on top of the world. By the next day however we see this great prophet fleeing for his life! Jezebel, the wicked wife of Ahab, king of Israel in Elijah’s time, swore that by the next evening she would have Elijah killed. Having received no word from God, Elijah flees for his life and came to Beersheba in the southern kingdom of Judah. There he left his servant, but he continued another day in the wilderness.

He finally came to rest under a juniper tree in the wilderness and fell into deep depression, such deep depression that he desired to die. Tired, burnt out and feeling like a failure, this great prophet is discouraged, depressed and ready to die!

How many today are in a similar situation?

You have labored and toiled in the kingdom of God; you have worked day and night, and you can’t seem to see the fruit of your labour! You have tried everything you know, but you can’t get any good result. You are discouraged and ready to give up! (Note that I am not speaking to those only in great public ministry, but you in your personal ministry, as you try to do right and save your own soul, you struggle, failing to make progress and are ready to die.)

The good news today is that God has a plan for you! He will not leave nor forsake you; He won’t let you die! Let me show you today the way out of discouragement. Let me show you the path to your new mission.

The bible tells us that in his despondency and exhaustion Elijah fell asleep under the juniper tree. But God sent an angel to refresh him. The angel came by, woke him up saying, “Arise and eat”. Elijah woke up and ate the cake and drank the water, but still exhausted he fell asleep again. The angel just allowed him to sleep. When he was adequately rested the angel woke him up again, fed him again. Elijah then traveled from Beesheba to Mount Sinai (Horeb). The journey took him forty days during which he neither ate nor drank, but was sustained supernaturally by the meal fed to him by the angel.

The journey from Beersheba to Horeb is believed to be about 200 miles and would not have usually required forty days; therefore it is quite likely that this was as much a spiritual journey as it was a physical journey. God was taking Elijah through a process where he could have a clearer vision of Him and His will. He was taking him to Sinai, the mountain of God’s revelation self revelation.

When he came to Sinai, Elijah settled in a cave. The scripture does not say what Elijah’s plan was when he settled in the cave, but it might have been Elijah’s retirement plan. OK, God doesn’t want me to die, He is not ready from be yet, but the prophetic leagues are too stressful, they want to kill me. I am just going to retire and hideout in this cave. Just me and God. No more prophesy, no more Jezebel, no more Ahab. Just me, God and quiet retirement.

But God was not finished with him yet. While there the word of God came to him asking him: “What doest thou here, Elijah?

God in calling out to someone in your cave today: “What doest thou here, Elijah?

You see, Elijah was out of place, out of commission, absent without leave, retired without being discharged! Look at his justification for his decision (This was in essence his resignation letter):

"I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life." 1^st Kings 19:10 (NKJV)

God did not contest the facts of Elijah’s justification. In fact, it was correct as far as Elijah could see, but was this consistent with God’s purpose for him? Had he heard from God?

A word for somebody: Don’t write your resignation if you have not heard from God!!

God therefore said to Elijah, Go stand upon the mount before the Lord. In essence: put yourself in a position to hear from God and wait. The next verses convey important principles with regards to hearing from God. The scripture tells that while Elijah waited, there was a strong wind upon the mountain, there was an earthquake and a fire – but God was not in the wind, he was not in the earthquake and he was not in the fire. Finally there came ‘a still small voice’ and when Elijah heard it he knew God was ready to speak.  

The Lord again asked him – What doest thou here Elijah? Elijah gave the same response. Again God did not challenge Elijah’s statement but proceeded to give him new assignments:  

“¹⁵And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: ¹⁶And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. ¹⁷And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.”

Some points to note:

(1) God does not always speak through the marvelous, miraculous or dramatic – tune your ears to hear the “still small voice”.

(2) Elijah needed a new assignment to renew purpose in his ministry. A ministry without an assignment will lead to despondency

What is your assignment today? Seek God. He will tell you what you must do!

APPLICATION/CONCLUSION

We can summarize the lessons learnt today in what I will call “The pathway to spiritual renewal: how to overcome discouragement and find new mission”

(1) Physical rest and nourishment – Elijah rested and was refreshed by the angel

(2) Spend time in close communion with God – Elijah fasted in the wilderness for forty days until he came to the mountain of God’s self revelation

(3) Wait until God gives you your new assignment

(4) Proceed immediately on your new assignment

(5) Success is not measured by results but by our faithfulness to our assigned tasks.

A life of discouragement is not what God planned for you! It time to arise. Get up from under the juniper tree and let God fulfill his purpose in your life!